Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles
by NXSE
Summary: An Uchiha born in the early years of the village? A simple thing right? But what if it was our knuckle headed hero from a timeline quite a few years in the future. Watch as Naruto shakes up the timeline by being born into a time he wasn't in the manga and shakes up the very foundations of canon as we know it, all the while finding love with a certain slug princess of said timeline!
1. Prologue

_**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**_

* * *

 _ **Summary : AU : What if Naruto was born in the time-line with those of the Sannin? What if Naruto was born in the Uchiha clan and was scorned due to being Izuna Uchiha's son and Madara Uchiha's nephew by the whole village? How would events roll about as he forges down his own path and gains the respect and love of the village to finally climbing the ladder and do what no Uchiha had ever done : Become Hokage.**_

* * *

 _ **Let the adventures unroll…**_

* * *

 _The Uchiha clan, one of the two most formidable clans in Konohagakure no sato. It wasn_ _'t a secret to anyone that they were one of the two founder clans of the Hidden Leaf village. Neither was it a secret to anyone that it was one of it's founding father's, belonging to that very clan, that betrayed and attempted to annihilate the very place he nurtured with his own hands._

 _Madara Uchiha._

 _The name alone was enough to instill fear among the hearts of any and every shinobi worth their salt, anyone who had ever picked up a history book regarding shinobis knew that name._

 _That name was the very definition of power and legacy he had left behind._

 _The power to cave landscapes and mark a whole new valley, just to leave a mark when the man really went all out in his battle prowess._

 _The Valley of the End was still a reminder to all those who had ever mistaken to forget the name of the menacing legend, the devil that once roamed across the Land of Fire like the Reaper himself. Annihilating the very existence of any person he found unworthy of breathing from the very face of the earth._

 _But not many knew that the man had married in secret._

 _Yes, Madara Uchiha, the tyrant, crimson eyed demon, the very virtue of death himself. Many names had been given to the legendary shinobi but none had ever imagined him to be a man who would ever even think to have a family._

 _But he had._

 _The man who was rumored to be completely unstoppable against anyone other than the legendary Shodai Hokage Hashirama Senju. The same man wielding the Mokuton, the only one who ever went toe to toe with Madara, and lived the next day to tell his tale._

 _The man who tamed the Lord of the Bijuus, the Kyuubi in the palm of his hands with a mere glance of his menacing eyes._

 _That man had a family._

 _He married a simple woman, and he had a son. A child, born when the man had married a woman of his own clan, one who had managed to creep into the small cracks that were in that stone faced man's heart._

 _Together they got married and gave birth to a child. A child who was trained by his father, to meet the expectations of his eyes. No one knew of their existence even within the village, since Madara's fame brought with itself the hatred of his enemies too._

 _The child who he had named after the very brother who had succumbed to his wounds, in his very arms and had left Madara with the power to take on the world by himself._

 _Izuna._

 _The boy had lived peacefully amongst his clansmen and villagers for quite some time._

 _But it was only a tiger sleeping among it's prey._

 _Waiting for the time to break free his fangs and claws and wipe the very existence of the people who he believed were the reason for his family's destiny._

 _His mother, who he loved with all his heart had gone to the point of death just because the grief of losing her husband had been too much for her to handle._

 _That had been the night, the night when he had let the darkness that hid in the skies to overtake his very being and gift him the power to wipe out anyone in his path._

 _That night he had awakened the eyes that were only wielded once in history by his father._

 _That night he wielded the Mangekyou Sharingan._

 _With the new power coursing through his veins, he had started his rampage. The rampage that had destroyed the better part of a third of the village's infrastructure and countless lives were lost in his wake of total insanity._

 _Only one man stood a chance against him._

 _It was as if history was repeating itself. As if their predecessors had taken birth yet again through a reincarnation._

 _Tobirama Senju, the Nidaime Hokage of Konohagakure no sato had taken charge that night. He was the one who stood in front of the insane man and stopped his slaughter midway before it could continue on any further._

 _Surely he was no where near the levels of power his elder brother, Hashirama Senju once wielded. But after years of experience as a shinobi and as a Hokage to the village there were few who dared to challenge him to a fight._

 _However Izuna Uchiha wasn't any man. The fight had lasted the better part of the night before his newly awakened eyes had no more to give into the fight against the Fire Shadow who stood tall above the defeated man that lay on his feet._

 _There were few that Tobirama had respected in his life with all his heart. His elder brother and surprisingly Madara Uchiha was one of them._

 _He didn't respect him for his actions in life. No they were disgraceful in his eyes._

 _He respected the man for his strength and character. The man held himself like a man of his stature should. And for that he had Tobirama's respect. But above all what Tobirama respected the most was Madara's loving heart._

 _Yes that was what Tobirama knew to be true no matter how ridiculous it sounded to anyone else._

 _He had done his fair share of studying into the power that hid itself behind those crimson eyes. The power that the world once cowered before. And finally his search had led him to the truth. He had gained the answers he was looking for after years of study into the secrets lurking behind those eyes. The answer was quite simple in the end._

 _Hate._

 _That was the answer that had shown itself to him for the fruits of of his labor._

 _The greater the hatred in the bearer's heart, the greater the visual prowess shall be._

 _But Tobirama knew it to be a contradiction in itself. For, if hatred was the key to unlocking the power behind those eyes. The trauma had to have come from a trigger that led it wielder to that hatred itself._

 _And once again the legendary Senju had devised the answer. This time too the answer was very simple, always in front of everyone but no one bothered to question it._

 _Love._

 _Now one might say how are love and hate related? They are the polar opposites in reality, just like light and dark, Yin and Yang._

 _But that was where the key to his answer lay. For Light to exist, Darkness had its existence too. Yin and Yang always were in perfect harmony, for without one the other cannot exist._

 _The greater the love an Uchiha hid within his pure heart. The greater the hatred would be when it was crushed by the world._

 _As Tobirama had stood tall, his shadow looming over his defeated opponent the Uchiha had asked for one last wish._

 _Tobirama Senju was many things in life._

 _Calm, stoic, calculative, logical, deceptive, a genius. But dishonorable wasn't one of them. Just like every Senju and every Uchiha, he kept one thing over all the others._

 _Honor._

 _And there wasn't anything more dishonorable than to deny the last words of a man breathing his last breath in the world._

 _So he had crouched down as the dying man had whispered his last wish in his ear. Never before had Tobirama been so close to having his heart go under a cardiac arrest as that very moment._

 _His wide eyes, astonished in disbelief stared at the dying Uchiha who merely smiled sadly with a warmth in his eyes that was never present even once during his battle._

 _Tobirama watched his eyes turn dull, as the life within them disappeared when his chest stopped heaving breaths and he passed on peacefully._

 _Tobirama never believed in superstitions, but at that very moment the concept wasn't too foreign to him. For it had happened yet again right in front of his very eyes._

 _History had repeated itself and he had bourne witness to it himself._

 _He crouched down and laid his palm over the man's lifeless onyx eyes. His hand slid down gently and closed the eyelids of the fallen man in respect and regret. For that day, he had made another child an orphan and taken away the shadow of his father from his life._

 _But he had given his word to the dying man; to take care of his legacy in his stead. And he would be damned if he let that promise go to waste._

 _Don't worry Izuna, your legacy rests safe with me I promise you…_

* * *

 _ **~~~Present Time…**_

* * *

 _ **~~~Konohagakure no Sato~~~**_

* * *

It was a bright day for the village that claimed to hide itself within it's leaves. The sky was filled with spaced clouds, allowing ample free space for the bright shiny sun rays to peer their way through them.

The village itself was in as bright a mood as was it's weather on that fine day. For, it was a happy week for it's inhabitants right now.

The Konoha Shinobi Academy had started it's enrollment process, just like it did every year ever since it's foundation nearly a couple of decades ago.

Every citizen of the village, be it shinobi or civilian was allowed for an admission procedure by the laws laid down by the Shodai Hokage himself.

"Next…" the voice of a chunin sitting on a chair behind a desk spoke into the crowd. Another family with their own little child stepped forward to the table handing her the slip containing their number in line. "…here you go, fill this form and get it submitted to the Admissions Office by four in the evening." her happy voice instructed the family.

She graced the little one sitting on his father's shoulders with a warm smile. He was too excited to notice, his eyes still stuck on the form while she waved his mother when they started walking away.

"Miss…" a soft and small voice spoke up, her thoughts broken instantly by it in a mere second. Her heart warmed at hearing the soft voice, no doubt coming from a prospective Academy student.

Her eyes landed on the small mop of blonde hair and blue eyes peering over the edge of her table and gazing at her with all the mustered innocence of the world. His hands being the only thing beside his upper half of his head being visible to her that were kept on the edge. He stood on tiptoes and was looking at the woman with a bitten lip hidden under the table.

Her smile instantly vanished the moment her eyes laid on him and realization dawned on her for the identification of said voice. Her eyes became icy and narrowed in an accusing glare on the blue eyed child on the front edge of her table.

"I want to enroll in the Academy too…" his innocent and soft voice slipped past his lips. Her eyes narrowed in on the blonde mop of hair even more, making him a little nervous from her cold stare.

"Is that right?" she asked a little coldly, the head of said boy bobbing up and down innocently.

"Hai!" he squeaked softly making her frown. She looked down on her small pile of forms before looking around to see that all parents had already taken theirs meaning he was the only one left now.

She gave him a half hearted smile. The boy's nervousness vanished instantly and was replaced by and excited smile.

"I'm sorry _boy,_ but all forms have been given out. You were a bit late…" she lied smoothly, making his smile vanish instantly off his face.

"Oh…" he whispered, obviously saddened by her remark. She peered up from her work and frowned, she felt a little guilty for doing so but it was for the greater good in the end. That was what she told herself and continued on her work to take her mind off of it.

"Umm where can I get one then miss?" his innocent voice spoke up yet again making her let out a sigh and slam her pen down in annoyance. He was startled a bit at her sudden loud action and stumbled on his toes, causing him to stumble back a bit.

"You can't. All forms for this year's admissions have been given out, you came too late. Now go and try again next year." she answered curtly and picked her pen up. She went about her papers, not seeing the small watering eyes or the quivering lip of said boy.

"Thank you for your time miss…" she heard his soft whisper trailing with a small sniffle at the end. She stopped her work momentarily to see him walking out slowly, no doubt in sadness if his little hunched shoulders were any indication.

She bit her lip when she saw him open the metal gates to the Academy and turn around. She wanted to stop him but he had already gone away by then. A sigh slipped past her lips and her hand massaged her temples tiredly.

" _Why am I feeling sympathy for him? He is nothing but trouble anyways, just like them…"_ she thought bitterly, and went back to her work.

The blonde's golden locks shone as bright as the sun itself while he walked down the streets slowly. He wiped his eyes and saw the main entrance for the Academy children in front of him which would open a couple of days from now for all the new admissions.

" _But not for me…"_ he sniffled to himself and walked to the wooden swing in front of said gate slowly.

The swing made soft creaking noises every now and then while his legs waved in the air with each movement he took on the ride. It made him feel a little better, the shade of the tree, the nests of the birds over it chirping loudly.

He loved nature, it always made him feel warm and nice. Especially the garden in his house.

"Kaa-chan see this is where I'll come day after tomorrow to become an awesome shinobi!" his little reprieve was instantly worsened even more so than before when he heard those words.

His longing blue eyes stared at the family with a look akin to that of someone who could just wish for what just could not be his.

Family.

He bit his lip, watching on with that same longing gaze at the boy hunched over his father's shoulders while they all laughed at his expense.

"Yes you're right but first we have to submit your form to the Hokage tomorrow sweetie or you won't be enrolled…" he heard and kept it in the back of his mind for future reference.

"Kaa-chan look the lady at that office gave me an extra form by mistake, what should I do with it?" his voice rang when he walked past the tree where our adorable little blonde sat. The said blonde's ears perked up and a small spark of hope now lingered on in his eyes.

"Throw it away sweetie, it's of no use to you anyways…" his mother told him with a soft giggle. The boy did as his mother had told him and threw it over his head without a second thought.

The slip of paper flew behind the three in the air and the blonde boy's swing stopped abruptly. His blue eyes narrowed in on the slowly flying piece of paper.

 _Konoha Shinobi Admissions Programme_

His eyes widened as soon as he read the words on top of the paper and he was off the swing in an instant. His little feet stumbled a little, but he caught his balance and chased the flying paper for dear life.

He leaned down between his stumbling and nervous steps, swinging his arms around for failed attempts at catching the paper he needed so much right now.

Finally, his fingers stuck on the flying form, his feet slowing down gradually before he was standing in the middle of the empty street all alone, looking at the piece of paper in his little hands with wide eyes.

 _Konoha Shinobi Admissions Programme_

He read the first line again to reassure himself that he really had one. He bit his lips and clutched the form to his chest as if it was made of gold. His eyes clenched in desperation to believe it really was true.

" _I've got it, I finally have one. Now I can enroll too!"_ he thought to himself and ran back towards his house with a small hop in his little steps. Everyone eyes him coldly, with a look that clearly said 'are you stupid?', seeing him clutch a piece of paper to his chest so protectively as if it was his whole life.

But the child could care less, he was far too happy right now to pay attention to these little things at the moment. He had a form to fill and submit to the Hokage tomorrow.

* * *

 _ **~~~Next Morning…**_

* * *

The streets of Konoha bustled with happy villagers going about their lives. A small boy, with his shiniest golden locks walked around them, snaking past legs to make sure Che didn't bump into anyone.

The admission form, now all filled out was still clutched to his chest like a lifeline. For, he had to make sure he didn't accidentally lose it.

No, that won't do at all.

He had never been to this part of the village. It was the main shopping district, acting as the nerve center for the entire village.

He had never needed to.

He always stayed in his clan compounds. They had everything he ever needed anyways. They were really nice and cozy, they made him feel safe.

Safer than he felt now from all the cold glares and snide remarks being sent his way from all those he caught eyes from.

He still got those occasional stares or remarks in his clan too, but they were a lot lesser in his own clan grounds. They were used to his presence there on a day to day basis. The rest of the village wasn't.

Plus, he wasn't oblivious as to the reason for said treatment towards him exclusively. His mother had told him everything before she had passed away a few months back.

His father and grandfather had done bad things to the village and hurt a lot of people in the village before the past two Hokages had put a stop to their actions.

That thought made him smile, thinking about his dream. His eyes raised their level upwards, to see the mountain shadowing the back of the village with two sacredly carved faces watching over them all at all times.

That was his dream.

He would have his face up there too one day.

He would become Hokage.

* * *

 _ **~~~Hokage Tower…**_

* * *

His soft footsteps made their way in front of the large tower that stood tall smack bang in the middle of the village.

His baby blue eyes widened in awe, looking at the tower in nothing but pure admiration in his eyes. He had never seen such a large tower and now he was a little sad that he hadn't come here before now.

It was so pretty and huge.

He broke off his thoughts when a jounin gave him a slight nudge and went about without so much as an apology. His eyes gazed on the back of the man before turning back to the tower with a small smile, the form now clutched ever so tightly by his chest.

He walked through the large hallways of the tower, stopping every now and then to see and read the small things written underneath some portraits of important figures stacked on the walls. He admired the teak wood walls of the tower and shining wooden floor that made him feel almost self conscious about stepping on.

He walked on like a lost man in an unknown world. Several Genins, Chunins, Jounins and even some doctors and normal civilians had walked past him now.

No wonder this tower was in the middle of the village. It not only had the Hokage but everyone came here so it made complete sense to his innocent mind.

He tried to stop some people to ask them for directions to where he was supposed to go in such a large building but no one was stopping for him. Either everyone was too busy or no one wanted to help him.

He thought it was the first one… a little uncertainly.

Finally after going on confused through the first two floors he reached a point where he saw a middle aged lady sitting on a table, right besides a door that had only one Kanji over it.

Hokage.

He had no doubt that this was the place he was supposed to go to. He walked up to the desk, first looking around to see if he had to get a number in a line like yesterday. He stood there innocently for a few minutes, when he finally saw a man just walk to her before she did something in her book and let him go in.

He smiled, finally seeing there was no line or need for any waiting and walked up the desk. Just like yesterday he stood up on his toes, his face peering over the edge up to his nose.

"Miss…" his soft voice spoke up startling her in surprise. She looked up and blinked to see two cute eyes blinking back at her. She was about to smile when realization dawned on her as to who he was and her face was masked in a neutral expression.

"What can I do for you?" she asked curtly, without so much as a hint of emotion in her voice. The blonde though smile seeing she wasn't sending him away or talking to him rudely like some people had done before and put his form on the table with one hand and clutched the edge of the table with both of them for a little added support.

"Can I meet the Hokage please?" he asked politely in his soft voice making her crease her eyebrows together in a knit.

She had half a mind to tell him off rudely, but she was still on duty and as her duty stated she had to treat everyone who came to her equally.

Even him….

"Not right now. No." she answered in her curt voice and turned her eyes down to the register. The blonde bit his lip softly and nodded nervously.

"Alright miss, how long do I have to wait?" he asked making her look up, this time with a hint of annoyance laced in her eyes.

"I told you not right now, didn't I? The Hokage is a very busy man and only entertains people who have made a prior appointment with him." she answered his query as professionally as possible and returned to her work. Her nodded hesitantly yet again, inwardly glad she was answering his questions so nicely.

"What's this appointment miss? How can I get one?" he asked innocently making her let out a tired sigh. He would leave her alone to her piling work until she had cleared off all his doubts.

She looked at those innocent wide curious eyes that were looking to absorb each word she said.

Nope not at all was he leaving her alone simply by himself. Now her full attention was on him to get him away as quickly as possible.

"An appointment is a fixed time you have to get before you can meet him. He has many people who want to see him and he can't meet with everyone right? So you get an appointment beforehand to get a meeting with him. Do you understand now?" she asked tiredly and got a happy nod from the bubbly boy. She sighed in relief that he was at least smart and she wouldn't have to waste any more time playing this rapid fire round with him.

"Can I get an appointment too?" he asked happily. A sigh slipped past her lips and she nodded tiredly. No matter how much she wanted to refuse him, he had all the right to meet the man and get an appointment. Her finger trailed down the register to get a free slot and stopped at the first one.

Her eyes turned up to the blonde staring at her intently and she nodded to him making him beam happily.

"There's a slot free for you. Come back and meet him in two weeks. Come back after lunch, I'll fix you an appointment then." she said simply and looked down the register to book it. The azure eyes widened in shock at her words.

"But the Academy starts in two days and tomorrow is the last day to be admitted. Can't it be before then?" he asked hurriedly. His voice carrying the worry that was now etched in his heart when he saw her shake her head in negative straight away.

"No, all the slots until then are filled. You can't meet him before then." she said curtly and wanted to resume her work when his voice cut through her thoughts again.

"Please miss, I won't take long. Just five minutes, I just have to get him to stamp this see…" he said pulling up his arm to show his form with the blank place for his stamp. Her frowned deepened into a scowl as her patience were now getting thinned by the second. She shook her head with a clenched jaw and his eyes now turned pleadingly wide. "…I'll be really quick please…" he said softly but was cut off as the irate receptionist slammed her hands on her desk softly, startling him out of his wits.

"Don't you understand boy? He doesn't have time to meet and entertain children like you all day. Now go and come back for your appointment. If you wanted to enter so bad why didn't you come earlier?" she said in a neutral voice barely hanging on to her patience and his features visibly saddened at that.

"I didn't know until yesterday and got my form from a boy who had an extra with him. The Academy lady had given out all forms already, please just a few minutes…" he said softly and the secretary had finally had enough now.

"Stop your whining kid!" she said rudely making his eyes widen in surprise. "If you wanted to enter so much, then you should have come earlier and get it done like everyone else did. Didn't your parents teach anything about the Academy before now? Now go and whine to them and stop disturbing me, I have work to attend to." she said in a tone of finality and returned back to her work, happy that she didn't get any more whining from that annoying boy. The sound of a soft sniffle reached her ears when she heard his hands slip down from her table and he she looked up to see him retreat a couple of steps back.

He was holding his form in both his hands now and his silky golden hair now shadowed his eyes. His pained eyes looked at the form while barely holding back a sob.

"I don't have any parents miss…" he said in such a small voice that she would have missed it had the hallway not been so silent. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw small drops slipping down his cheeks and down on the paper clutched in his tiny hands. Her heart clenched at the sight when he spoke up with a polite boy, shocking her to the core at his form of respect even after the way she had treated him.

"I'm sorry miss, it's my fault. I shouldn't have forced you like that and disturbed you from your work. Thank you for answering all my questions so nicely and giving me your time. I'll take my leave now…" he said softly with a slight sniffle, rising up from his bow to wipe his nose sloppily with his sleeve. Her astonished eyes watched him walk past her table silently and throw the form in the dustbin kept to the side.

Guilt crept up her heart and she bit her lip. No matter who he was, he was still a little child and didn't know what to do without his parents to tell him.

She broke her thoughts to call out to him, only to see him already gone and the now empty hallway making her guilt increase two folds.

Her train of thoughts went on, unaware of a pair of narrowed stoic amber eyes watching the empty hallway quite intently from the sidelines.

Tobirama Senju stood by his door, his arms crossed while he leaned with his back to the wall. He had come out to see what this conversation was about and to get his next set of paperwork that hadn't been brought in, only to catch an earful of the last part of the conversation.

Needless to say, with what he heard he wasn't pleased in the slightest. This was his village, and no child should be treated the way that boy had been treated just now. For some matter, the boy seemed a little familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it for the life of him. And that annoyed him to no end, he wasn't a man to be left with unanswered questions. Everyone knew that about him.

He walked up to the receptionist's desk who looked back to see who it was tiredly. Her eyes widened in shock at seeing Tobirama himself standing there, albeit not looking at her instead his eyes now dead set on the dustbin kept to the side. She stood up scrambling the messed up piles of paper hurriedly, knowing how eyeing the man could be for such trivial matters.

"H-Hokage-sama!? What can I do for you?" she asked with a slight stutter of nervousness and cursed herself for it inwardly. He paid her no heed and walked to the dustbin that had caught his eyes now, and picked out the small slip of paper laid on the top.

His eyes narrowed in on the sloppily filled form. Especially the small wet spots now marring it's surface, no doubt made by the tears of that innocent child. He focused his thoughts on the form itself and read it thoroughly as he was used to like always.

* * *

 _Konoha Shinobi Admissions Programme_

 _Admittee's name :- My name is Naruto Uchiha._

 _Mother's Maiden Name :- My Kaa-chan's name is Mia Namikaze._

 _Father's name :- My Tou-san's name is Izuna Uchiha_

" _Legal Guardian/Father's name :- Umm I don't know about that but I'll tell you after I ask Kagami Oji-san._

 _Clan Status (If any) :- I am from the Uchiha clan._

 _Age :- I am five but I'll be six in two weeks._ _Reasons for joining the Academy (To be filled in by the admittee) :- Shinobi are cool, my Tou-san was a great one from what my Kaa-chan told me. And I want to be one like him. Oh and I want to be the Hokage!_

 _Pledge to loyalty for the village (To be filled in by the admittee) :- I love my village but I don't know what this pledge is, I'll get it after I find it. So please give me a little time to find it alright?_

* * *

Tobirama, the man known for masking his emotions to the utmost across the elemental nations couldn't help the mall smirk that was now etched on his face while his eyes read past the words in pure curiosity.

The cute way he had filled out the form with, and how he had forgotten to add his own picture to it made it quite clear to him that the child didn't have the slightest bit of idea how to fill a form and had tried his best regardless of that, to the best of is knowledge. The small tear stains had smudged up his already sloppy handwriting a bit but he could make out all of it quite clearly.

He was surprised for a moment to read his father's name but now it made sense to him why his secretary had been so adamant about sticking to the rules, particularly with him.

His eyes left the form and looked up to the nervous secretary. His gaze narrowed in on the woman who shivered a little, gulping softly in nervousness from the man's intense stare.

"Why didn't you let the child meet me?" he asked stoically, though the dangerous glint behind it wasn't lost to the woman.

"Y-You see Hokage-sama, there was no time slot left in your timing register and…" her voice was cut off by the piercing voice of the man whose eyes had narrowed even further at her slight stuttering voice.

"I have a little free time in between my appointments. Surely a few minutes between any one of them could have been discerned for the child since the matter was so trivial as to just needing my stamp of approval. So why?" he asked again in a steel like voice making her gulp down her nervousness and try to speak but he cut her off again.

"You hate him." he stated simply, leaving no room for arguments. Her eyes widened in shock when he slapped the truth in her face and she shook her head vigorously. He paid her lies no heed and continued on completely undeterred.

"He is his father's son, yes. He has his grandfather's blood coursing through his veins, yes. He is related to two traitorous shinobi of the village, yes." he said stoically and watched her look at him speak as if he was an alien of sorts, no doubt shocked by his words, but he didn't stop.

"But he is a part of this village. He has done nothing wrong. He doesn't even have anyone to teach him how to fill a form properly…" he spoke pointedly, slapping the form on the desk for emphasis over his point. The woman flinched at the slapping sound but peered her gaze over the cutely filled form, feeling even more guilty and ashamed than ever before.

"How would you feel if you were an orphan and someone slapped that point straight into your face, her words full of disgust and loathing?" he asked coldly. She couldn't meet his accusing eyes with her own and turned them down to her feet in shame. She shrunk visibly under his stare that he held for a moment, before picking the form up and walking away.

But just before he walked down the stairs he stopped for his final parting words.

"Go home and don't return tomorrow." he said blankly and the secretary snapped her neck up to stare at his back with horror stricken eyes.

"H-hokage-sama?!" she stuttered out in shock and he glanced back with his lone visible eye to make himself quite clear now.

"You're fired." he said simply and walked down the stairs leaving a stunned and shell shocked kunoichi behind.

* * *

 _ **~~~In the village…**_

* * *

Tobirama walked through the streets, now a little irritated and annoyed at the new development. His plan to go straight to the boy and meet him to clear of the prior confusion had went completely down the drain. The guards at the Uchiha clan compounds gates had notified him that he had left the compounds in the morning but hadn't returned as of yet.

He would have used his sensory abilities had he memorized his chakra signature at first sight. But he hadn't done so.

So here he was doing the searching in the old fashioned way.

"Have you seen a six-year-old blonde haired, blue eyes boy around here?" he asked, stopping by a stunned vendor who shook his head nervously. Not having words to see the emotionless Hokage asking him such a weird question.

He let out a sigh and walked away, asking himself why he wasn't having an ANBU search for the boy. But he already knew the answer as to why.

Pride.

It would hurt his pride that he, a Senju clan head, the current Hokage and probably the strongest shinobi in the Land of Fire couldn't find a six-year-old boy by himself. Plus, it was better that being stuck all day in the office, rummaging about his paperwork.

" _That surely must be the bane of all Kage. I could already feel my skills dulling if I neglect my training in favor of all that in a few months more."_ he sighed tiredly and stopped at another vendor near the edge of the village towards the Hokage mountains.

"Have you seen a six-year-old blonde haired, blue eyes boy around here?" he asked yet again, and this time relief washed across his heart when he got a nod from the man. Frankly, he felt quite stupid to find him like this. But it felt nice for a change to interact with people normally again.

Only now did he realize how right Kagami really was. He had told him that he was far too engrossed these days in his work. And now he was agreeing seeing how much of it was true.

He walked up the mountain in thought, not realizing when he had peered past the monument and towards the back clearing of it.

"Meewww!" a soft mewling sound reached his ears making them perk up instantly. So there were signs of life here after all. He walked into the bushes and followed the soft purring and mewling sounds to their source.

"Kiara! Come on you have to eat this too!" a soft voice, no doubt a young child was admonishing someone called Kiara for something concerning food.

He spread the last bush into the clearing by his hands and peeked in to see the same mop of blonde hair he had been looking for so long sitting there with a small white cub in his arms.

Well that was the source of the mewls an purrs he deducted logically. His foot accidentally stepped on a twig making a small cracking voice.

He rose an eyebrow when he saw the blonde child in front of him perk up and scoot back instantly. He was completely on guard with the cub now wrapped up protectively in his arms.

"Meewwwww!" he tried to muffle her mewls but couldn't stop from giggling when the cub was licking his cheek softly much to his protests. Tobirama once more had to smirk at the adorable scene in front of him.

Though his amber eyes narrowed in on the cub when he saw something out of place with it. His eyes widened momentarily and he realized what was wrong truly in the first place.

" _That is no ordinary kitten, it's a white tiger cub!"_ he drawled on in his mind and saw the boy curl the cub in his arms into a little ball of fur and now completely out of his eyes.

"Please don't take her from here, she lives here and I take care of her…" he said in a guarded voice once more surprising the ever stoic Senju.

" _So he knows the cub does not belong here yet he takes care of it and keeps it hidden from everyone. Smart for his age, no doubt about that…"_ he concluded and stepped out of the bush, dusting his clothes gently.

Tobirama crouched down on one knee in front of the boy who was now rocking the cub a little to calm her down. Tobirama was quite surprised that a cub of a species such as his own had taken a liking to a human child no less. His eyes met the boy's baby blue ones that were still guarded and completely defiant making him a bit proud at his protective nature.

"I'm not her to take the cub child." he stated blankly and watched the boy blink innocently before nodding and relaxing completely.

" _Though it is rather easy to convince him otherwise…"_ he deduced silently and watched the boy smile and settle the ball of fur over his lap. The cub curled up in a small ball and let out a cure yawn, her ears twitching cutely at that moment. Tobirama watched the boy brush her back and get small purrs out of her and couldn't help but be surprised at how comfortable the cub was around him.

"Why are you here mister?" he heard the innocent question of the blonde and gave him a curt nod of acknowledgment. He pulled out his folded form from his pocket and handed it to the boy who took it hesitantly, no doubt wondering what it really was.

Naruto unfurled the folds and had wide eyes when he saw that it was his admissions form. But more than that he was astonished to see the stamp that was now marked in the blank square he needed to have filled in the first place. It was the official stamping that donned the Kanji of Nidaime Hokage over it along with it saying it was approved. He looked at the man with a bright and grateful smile.

"How did you get it signed mister? I thought the Hokage didn't have any appointments for two weeks. Did you have one earlier and get this signed for me?" he asked making Tobirama purse his lips in thought.

So the boy had a dream to be Hokage but was still so innocent and oblivious to the fact that the current reigning Hokage was sitting in front of him?

That was…amusing to say the least.

"Yes, you could say that." he said simply, and saw the blonde too happy to notice his slight hesitance in words. Naruto put his finger on the cub's nose and gave it a soft rub, only to make said cub scrunch it up in irritation.

"Meeewwww!" the cub mewled softly and Naruto kissed her head in an apology for disturbing her nap, getting yet another purr out of her. But he had to show her this.

"See Kiara this mister got it signed for me! Now I can go to the Academy too…" he whispered to her and Tobirama saw now the slight tear marks on his fare cheeks.

The child had been crying her no doubt.

"Meeewwww!" the cub mewled in a hurt like manner making him chuckle at the pouting blonde, who had bonked her softly when she tried to lick and bite his form instead of reading it like he wanted her to.

"You don't have to eat everything you glutton!" he scolded her half heartedly, before scooping her up and kissing her nose to make her lick his own softly.

Tobirama chuckled at the boy's antics making the boy turn a bit sheepish and stick his tongue out childishly.

The Stoic Senju wondered just how long it had been since he had had a laugh like this. He was now becoming socially inept, not that he normally wasn't but now he would be even more.

He sighed when he saw the confused looking Naruto and Kiara blinking at him innocently, wondering what he was thinking no doubt.

"So you want to be Hokage?" he asked to take their minds of his behavior and saw him look at him surprised before looking down at his form and then back at him with a small smile and nodded happily.

"Hai! I'll become the hokage one day." he said making Tobirama smirk ever so slightly. The boy had said 'want to become', it was 'will become' which left only the argument of when he would become one. "Hmm and why is that if I may ask?" he asked in a hint of curiosity, eyeing him calculatingly to discern his incoming answer.

"Because my Kaa-chan told me how awesome they were…" he said happily making his eyebrow shoot up in surprise. Now this was a new one he mused and urged him to go on, this he would like to hear. "…she said that he is the strongest shinobi in our lands, one who each one every other respects and our enemies fear. He looks after each and everyone regardless of who they are, maybe if I become one everyone will love me too…" he whispered the last part in a faraway voice making Tobirama's eyes soften ever so slightly.

"I see…" he said in affirmative. He knew of the child's scorn but he could implement that the child be treated fair in every possible way. For which there was his decree in place, but he could not make them accept him, that only came with time. He had even tried to adopt the child by himself but the clan laws he himself had placed once had stopped him.

Oh the irony, his own laws working against him now.

But there was nothing he could do. He did belong to the most royal family of the Uchiha clan with the most noble of their bloods. There was no doubt in anyone's minds that he would one day inherit their pride and joy, their kekkei genkai in his eyes too. It was his birthright after all.

That was the very reason he had been rejected in the first place. The fear of their bloodline's purest form falling prey to an outsider, a Senju no less was a risk the Uchiha clan wasn't willing to take.

It had always pained his heart that he was the very reason why he had been orphaned in the first place and how little he could do for the boy without making it look personal. The power of the Hokage came with several restraints.

Not showing favoritism to a single individual being one of them.

He had known his mother for quite some time. A nice woman, belonging to a small shinobi family without any fame and marrying into the most strongest families of the leaf. Even after her husband's death, she hadn't kept even an ounce of animosity or ill-will towards him personally.

Both sat in comfortable silence, with Tobirama's conflicted amber eyes gazing over at the waterfall in front of them with a glance holding a hint of solemnity in them.

"It's a nice dream…" he said, in barely above a whisper but loudly audible to the blonde child sitting by his side, clearly enjoying the calm serenity of nature all around him.

"Now I can go to the Academy and become a shinobi, then one day I'll be Hokage, the first Uchiha to be one, believe it…!" Tobirama watched the child in fascination. Never before had he seen a child belonging to the Uchiha clan proclaim the dream to lead their village and become acknowledged by everyone with such fire and passion.

They were raised up in an environment to always pride themselves in their old ways. Especially, their mightiest Sharingan.

But this boy was different.

Different from all those that came before him.

Different from Izuna.

Different from Madara.

Almost purely out of instinct, he raised his hand. His large hand covered the boy's small head gently. Naruto's curious and wide baby blue eyes looked at Tobirama with all the innocent confusion in the world, the child was no doubt confused by his action.

"I believe you." he said simply. His voice holding no emotions in them like usual, the ever stoic voice of Tobirama Senju. He watched those azure eyes widen even more than they usually were and his features suddenly became hesitant and nervous.

Naruto hadn't expected him to say that. His voice was so firm, so confident. He couldn't even decipher an ounce of doubt in his words.

It made a warmth envelope his chest like never before. He truly sounded like he believed him. The first one ever aside from his mother to believe in him and not outright laugh or send a snide remark at him.

Tobirama ruffled his hair gently and looked straight, not seeing the boy glance at the man every now and then in a new found nervousness shining in his eyes.

Naruto couldn't understand the man. How could he believe in his dream just like that? He didn't even know him.

"Say…" his soft voice rang in the comfortable silence. Tobirama gave no signs of hearing him but Naruto could feel his complete and rapt attention on him.

The man by his side was so mysterious.

"How can you believe in my dream so easily? You don't even know me." he asked in childlike curiosity. Tobirama sat in silence for a few moments, as if pondering on the words of the child.

However he wasn't. He knew the answer to the child's question the instant it left his lips. No, he was instead pondering on the nature of his words.

They weren't put forth like a normal child his age would. His voice was innocent and childlike, but he knew for these were the moments in one's life. The questions' of man's childhood that forged the path he would no doubt endure for the rest of his life.

"I know you." he said stoically, chucking a pebble in the lake in front of him. The pebble bounced a number of times, the ripples echoing in the water as if rippling with the weight of the words he was considering at the moment.

"For I know everyone in this village." he continued in his emotionless voice. For some reason, Naruto could feel the happiness the man no doubt felt as he was uttering each and every word even though his face portrayed none.

"Every elderly, man, woman, child, family, place…" he continued on not noticing the blonde's curious eyes glued on his face from the side.

Tobirama turned his glance down on the lake's water, his own reflection staring back at him. A leaf fell over it, rippling apart the mirror image.

"For I am the stem that holds it's leaves, fruits and branches up, even in the mightiest of winds. For each and everyone in this village is a part of me, my responsibility." he said making Naruto's face turn to one of realization. Tobirama smirked ever so slightly at seeing the dawning face of the blonde and turned his glance to him.

Naruto could feel himself drawing into the man's powerful and intense eyes. They held such confidence, such fire in them. He couldn't help but feel respect for the man he had just met.

His mother always used to say that one glance in a person's eyes was all it took to assess his heart. And for the first time, today he found her words to be true.

He respected the man, but from this point on he looked up to him.

"For I am the Nidaime Hokage of Konohagakure no sato. The Shadow that protects this village from the fiery rays of the skies." he said stoically. His voice had such authority in it that it made Naruto's hair stand up for a moment.

Naruto looked down to the water and flailed his dipped feet gently in the water. He smiled, watching the fish inside tickle his toes softly getting a few giggles out of him.

Tobirama himself watched on in pure curiosity. The boy's calming presence was inviting fishes over to him, he glanced back to see a couple of deer grazing the grass softly. It was strange, they should no doubt scour off as soon as they see a human.

His eyes turned to the giggling blonde by his side. His eyes softened momentarily, the boy's innocence was contagious. He was so naive yet content with all that he had.

But that didn't stop him from dreaming for more.

That was the drive that intrigued Tobirama to the boy. For, at that moment he wished himself that the boy would stay true to his words and one day come to him for his position.

For the time being though…

"Kyaaa!" the blonde yelped and fell down into the lake with a small splash. Tobirama retracted his hand from where the blonde once used to be and looked at the dripping boy glaring at him heatedly. He only showed one response to him though.

He merely raised an eyebrow.

It seemed to infuriate the blonde boy even more when he pointed an accusatory finger at him.

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" he asked heatedly making Tobirama's eyebrow shoot up a bit more.

"I have no idea what you are talking about…" he lied smoothly. Years of being a political and militaristic leader had honed his deceptive skills to the utmost precision.

"But how will you become a Hokage, when you can't even save yourself from falling into a lake?" he asked stoically, though the underlying mirth of playfulness wasn't lost to the blonde haired Uchiha.

He fumed and almost had steam coming off of his ears. That stoic voice was getting on his nerves and he was lying too! It wasn't fair!

 _SPLASH…_

"Ahahahaha….!" the blonde laughed and giggled, holding his sides when they started to hurt a little.

Tobirama's eye twitched in annoyance. He brought a hand up to his face and brought it down slowly. The dripping droplets collecting in his palms and falling down his dripping form harmlessly.

He merely glanced at the boy stoically, the blonde boy who had the nerve to splash water at him of all people! It was truly amusing and utterly surprising to him.

He watched the boy double over in laughter and slap the water with his hand, mumbling incoherent jokes pointed at him and then laughing at him.

It would have been an adorable sight, had he not been the one who was currently dripping that is…

"You do realize that you just splashed water on a shinobi who is renowned throughout the elemental nations for his unparalleled mastery over the Water element?" his stoic voice rang throughout the clearing. The blonde's adorable giggles ceased and he watched on Tobirama's towering form, cowering a bit.

"And that too while you were standing in the middle of a lake full of water itself." he pointed out a brought the obvious. Naruto couldn't help but gulp and watched the surrounding water bodies a bit nervously. They looked quite scary now…

"Now now we can settle this peacefully like adults…" Naruto tried to negotiate with a sheepish chuckle and Tobirama's eye twitched dangerously at his stupid excuse.

"Well that will not be possible…" he reasoned in a sudden calmness that Naruto took as a queue to run.

"SINCE YOU'RE NOT AN ADULT! NOW GET BACK HERE!" he shouted and formed a couple of water whips in his palms. The blonde yelped and ran throughout the clearing, trying to pry off those dangerous looking whips with skillful and last moment dodges.

Tobirama took this time of playful banter to realize how honed his agile instincts really were as he tried to press on slowly a little by little to see and gauge the limits of the blonde that had peeked his interest a bit.

Mito Uzumaki, the heiress to the great Uzumaki clan and the sealing mistress herself was walking in the fields with a baffled look marring her beautiful face, regardless of her age.

She had tried to go and find Tobirama, since Tsunade had to start her Academy tomorrow and had picked the house over her head to go shopping for her dress and equipment with her Ojii-san and Baa-san.

The first place she had looked into, was the first place anyone would go to find the ever stoic Senju these days.

The Hokage Tower.

But what surprised her truly was that rather than finding him there. There wasn't a trace of life near his office. The secretary wasn't there to be seen and Tobirama's desk was unkempt with half filled paperwork stacks.

Now this intrigued her. For a man who was hell bent on getting everything perfect, his table had surprised her. She wondered what had come over him to leave so abruptly like that.

But there was no trace across the Tower for the man. So finally, she had given up and resorted to desperate measures.

Her special ability, **Negative Emotions Sensing** had kicked in at that moment. She was renowned for her sensing ability as the strongest sensor in the world for quite some time now and was surprised when her senses led her straight towards the back clearing of the Hokage monuments.

" _*WHIP*_ Kyaaa!" she heard a soft yelp followed by what seemed like chasing footsteps. She pushed the bushes away, after following those strange sounds to their source and her violet orbs widened in shock at what she saw.

"Hey come on! Now we're square! Both of us are wet and you hit me once too!" the blonde yelped, dodging another whip while Tobirama was having the time of his life. It had been so long when he had cut loose and he couldn't even remember when he had joined in on some childish antics like this one today.

"The why don't you stop running?" asked Tobirama following the sprinting blonde who picked the small sleeping cub up in his arms and rolled to the side effortlessly for another dodge.

"Will you stop then?" he asked, his breathing a bit erratic now and his voice pretty hopeful. He hadn't intended to piss the man off so much.

"No…" Tobirama said and Naruto's mouth opened and closed at his honest reply wordlessly, completely baffled in confusion. Tobirama wanted to assess his stamina a bit too, plus, not that he would admit it to anyone.

This was a little fun…

"OH COME ON!" he shouted and jumped aside from another whip when his azure eyes caught the stare of the baffled violet ones and a plan formed in his head making him smirk.

Mito stood there, staring at the scene in front of her in utter disbelief. Never had she thought in so many years that she would see Tobirama Senju acting so childishly as if he was his elder brother.

Her thoughts were broken off when a golden blur barreled straight into her waist and a small pair of arms slid around her hips tightly.

She looked down and her motherly instincts kicked in, wrapping her own arms around the little boy's head and brushing his hair gently.

"Hey what's wrong little one?" she asked in a gentle motherly voice and her heart twisted when she saw those doe looking puppy dog eyes that were shimmering a little with unshed tears. Couple with their usual shine and beautiful color, well needless to say the charm worked perfectly.

"Miss, that scary man is chasing me and hurting me…please help me…" he faked a soft sniffle between his words and Mito's eyes turned murderous. Her reasoning capabilities went out the window as soon as she heard that soft sniffle coupled with those adorable eyes and killing intent washed over the fields while she brought his face close into her stomach.

Tobirama, unaware of it all was wondering where the boy had sprinted off to when he felt a humongous amount of killing intent from behind him making him shiver.

He suddenly had a feeling of foreboding which proved to be quite effective in this case as an **Adamantine Chain** wrapped around his stomach and reeled him back quickly like a rag doll.

His confused amber eyes stared into the murderous violet orbs of his sister-in-law in utter confusion. He couldn't get why she was so angry and for that matter why he was hanging upside down in mid air while his ankle had a chakra chain wrapped around it.

He turned his head up, which was down in Mito's eyes and his eyes widened a little when he realized what had happened and how much trouble he was in right now.

The blonde giggled softly in Mito's arms who was gushing inwardly, thinking he was feeling ticklish from her strokes and not seeing him stick out his tongue at Tobirama and mouth some words that made Tobirama give him a death glare.

" _Shinobi don't play fair old man!"_ he read the blonde's lips and fumed inwardly when he saw his soft snickers and turned his head down, which was up in Mito's case and saw her scowling face. Her intimidating posture was towering over him, her hands on her hips to make her point clear.

"Mito this is all a misunderstanding you see…" he tried to reason with the bristling Uzumaki heiress who was in no mood for negotiations. Already falling under the charm of Naruto's **Puppy Dog Eyes no jutsu.**

"Tobirama Senju how dare you scare a little innocent child like that? Have you no shame? I didn't expect this, least of all from you." her regal voice scolded him and he shrunk a little like a child in front of his mother.

"But I didn't…" he said again but trailed off when he saw her eyes narrow dangerously and his ear was being pulled and twisted quite painfully.

"Now listen here big man, if I find you chasing innocent children and scaring them like that again…" she trailed off and he gulped seeing her silent threat, nodding furiously.

He sweat dropped a moment later. Wasn't he a Hokage and the strongest shinobi in the world right now?

To be scolded by a woman, being held upside down at that was a great wound to his pride. Especially, in front of the blonde who was barely stifling his giggles and watching the scene in amusement.

Tobirama threw him a betrayed glare when he was dropped face first into the ground unceremoniously. His body twitched a couple of times comically, and Mito's eyes turned to the blonde who was hiding in her embrace snuggling happily and they softened instantly.

"There no one will trouble you like that again , alright?" she asked and he nodded ever so innocently with a grateful smile. He smiled at the nice woman and nodded happily, she had a calming aura that made him smile and go to her almost instantly.

They heard a cough and Naruto turned to see Tobirama dusting his clothes off and trying to gather up what was left of his wounded pride right now.

"So Mito what brings you by her to find me?" he asked trying to change the subject and the Uzumaki heiress blinked innocently and realized what she had come here for in the first place.

"Tsunade had picked the house up over her head because you didn't come for her shopping appointment as promised. So, I came to find you but you weren't at the Tower and then that search led me here." she explained simply and he nodded.

"I lost track of time." he said honestly and the Uzumaki heiress gave him a knowing smile. No matter how he tried to mask it she had seen that playful smirk on his face when he was involved in his childish antics mere moments ago.

Naruto looked between the two nervously, seeing how they had forgotten about his presence here and looked up at the orange sky only to realize how late it was.

"Umm I should probably just go, it was nice meeting you two." he said in a soft polite tone making the two adults blink. Mito though caught his shoulders and gave him a stern look that made him freeze in place before her eyes softened and she cupped his cheek in her hand gently.

"You must be joining the Academy too right?" she asked softly and he nodded, blushing a bit in embarrassment at how she treated him so kindly. He wasn't used to this behavior with everyone almost always giving him the cold shoulder.

Mito squealed in delight inwardly at the adorable boy who was a shy mess at her mere touch right now. He was so cute!

She turned her eyes to Tobirama who had his arms crossed and was looking at the scene in fascination as if it was a movie for him to enjoy.

"Tobirama since you have missed your spree with Tsunade already, why don't we take this adorable thing with us to make up for lost time?" she asked with a playful smile. He smirked and nodded, raising an eyebrow at the boy who was looking between the two with lost eyes.

"Of course, he is in need of new clothes and equipment for the Academy too." he said, nodding in affirmative. Naruto's eyes widened and Mito watched him squirm nervously.

"What's the matter?" she asked him in a gentle voice and looked to see his adorable wide eyes looking at her apologetically.

"Umm you don't have to, I mean I have clothes already in my house…" he said softly, trying to make them see his point that he didn't really want them to see.

Both elders glanced at each other in confusion before turning back to the nervous blonde.

"Then you must need books and scrolls right? I mean you can't have those since the curriculum is revised almost every year by Tobirama?" she asked him and he bit his lip and said nothing. The two elders were quite curious at his strange actions now.

Mito knew who he was, there weren't many blondes who donned the Uchiha symbol proudly on their shoulders. She knew who he was, the only outcast Uchiha in the village.

And she, for the life of her couldn't see how people could ostracize such an adorable thing in front of them so cruelly.

"How much are they?" he asked softly. Both of their eyes widened a little and they knew now what he was so nervous about.

The Uchiha clan, as compensation for the actions of their clan head, had to pay off all the costs for the damages caused during the rampage of the boy's father.

As such, the clan elders had seized the amount from the head family's funds taking a huge chunk off from their fortune. No one knew what happened to the rest after his mother's death.

But Tobirama did. Not for what had become of the rest of the family's fortunes, that were still a mystery in themselves as to how large they truly were and what became of them. But he knew of the boy's plight and the reason of his current nervousness.

He had come to know it through the now clan elder and his ex-subordinate Kagami Uchiha. The man had tried as much as he could to make the boy's life comfortable but hadn't been able to do much despite that.

A lone man against the rest of the clan's despise, he couldn't do much no matter how much he had wanted to. But the clan still had to uphold it's honor as the oldest and noblest of them all, and as such according to the ancient traditions of Uchiha orphan children fund.

The clan gave the boy a fixed sum of money as set by the elders of that time each month until he was old enough to take care of himself thereby by considered an adult, or had a stable income source in his life. Whichever condition was fulfilled first.

And that in itself was where the problem lay. The Uchiha clan's traditional laws hadn't been updated since a long time and the amount was a sum set decades ago, therefore not enough for a proper and comfortable living in this day and time.

Now that wasn't usually a problem for the orphaned child since the Uchiha's had their own shopping districts and way of life. Their clan members could be said as one of the most caring and protective of all the clans, as funny as it sounded it was true.

The children who had been orphaned due to some reason would get huge cuts in prices and discounts all over the things they purchased, to the point of getting some things free in their clan compounds therefore nullifying the need for any extra money other than that old fixed stipend.

But Naruto wasn't a simple orphan.

No one cared if he lived or died. Instead most would prefer it if he died and no longer a threat to bring more shame to their clan.

Mito saw through Tobirama's contemplative expression and knew that the man was rummaging through his mind for a solution.

But in this case she was a bit ahead of him.

"Tobirama, don't you have some manuscripts of the books you wrote last year for the new curriculum?" she asked him, making the shaggy white haired man nod in affirmative at her question

"But they are mere prototype manuscripts I wrote containing only the most essential of materials. It had to undergo a complete rewrite by the order of the council since my writings were far too complex and detailed for children as young as them." he cut her musings short.

"Umm can I have them please Ojii-san?" asked the soft and shy voice of the blonde who was standing quietly to the side and listening to their conversations for a while now.

Tobirama though saw his eyes, the eyes that were eager to learn. But what if he couldn't understand them? They would do more harm to the boy than good…

"Please, I'll give them back to you if I don't understand. But if you can I'll take them…" he asked him in a pleading voice and those innocent eyes made even his heart melt.

He sighed, looks like age really was catching up to him. He crushed those thoughts instantly, what was he thinking? He wasn't old, he hated being old, he scolded himself inwardly.

"Alright…" he said and Mito giggled when the boy perked up with a smile in an instant. To Naruto they served two purposes, first he got off from paying. But that wasn't the reason he asked for them.

They were incredibly complex and detailed, written by the Hokage himself. Now that was a challenge, and how would he be Hokage, if he couldn't even understand one's written knowledge himself?

Tobirama wanted to see how far the boy would go with those manuscripts. He would keep an eye over him just in case he pushed himself too far and wasn't able to cope up with the detailed knowledge himself.

Though he had a hunch that the boy might surprise him. And he loved these kinds of surprises a lot.

"Alright then I'll bring them over to your house tomorrow. Then we can see if you need those clothes and equipment really or not." he said stoically with a hint of warmth and ruffled the boy's hair who just looked at him with affectionate and longing eyes.

Naruto had seen father's do this to their children and now he knew how nice it felt. Tobirama saw it and a slice of guilt flashed through his heart when he saw those longing blue eyes that looked for affection in even the smallest of things.

He was the very reason the boy had eyes like those in the first place. He had taken his father's life, in combat or not and it weighed heavily on his shoulders now. This was why he never let emotions out of his heart.

They made things complicated. Now he knew whatever the boy would say when he came to know he was the one responsible for taking his father's life, the boy would despise him.

And deep within him he knew it would hurt him. But he would endure it, for he was a shinobi and he had promised his father to look after the boy.

" _Don't worry Izuna, I've got eyes on your boy now…"_ he thought when he watched Mito pinch the cheeks of the blonde who was blushing and mumbling incoherently with pinched cheeks to let go, not that the Uzumaki heiress was listening to him in the slightest.

"Alright Ojii-san, Mito-sama. I'll be taking my leave now." he said politely with a slight bow and the two were surprised at the manners he had at so young an age.

Before Mito could break out of her thoughts and tell him to not call her that, the blonde was off with a wave. Now how was she supposed to tell him…

Her thoughts trailed off and she smiled at the stoic Senju slyly. Tobirama grew uncomfortable at the sight of that smile. That smile meant she wanted something and he was an essential part of it.

But the thing that annoyed him the most was that she always got what she wanted, no matter what he argued with his ever present logic. For that was the power of women that not even Tobirama Senju was able to overcome.

He just prayed to heavens that Tsunade didn't turn out like her grandmother. He even shuddered to think what she would do to men when she grew up. Her temper was already of the legendary and fiery Uzumakis.

He just didn't know then how much the relations between the Senju and Uchiha clans were going to change in the coming future.

* * *

 **Author's notes : I apologize for this re-write but it had to be done. You see when I tried to work on this story I read the past few chapters. The number of flaws in there, my rushed writing, decline of quality (I think this one's better if not please tell me if not in reviews) and the overall length too wasn't satisfying enough for me to write further. This is the length the future chapters can be expected to be, so you know how long they'll be in the future. As many may have noticed, the plot is overall the same as the other one with only minor tinkering here and there to make it flawless. I have really high hopes for this and Naruto : Remnants of the Past since these are the two most rarely touched time-lines ever. So please forgive me for making you read it again but I had to do it to overcome my block. Until next time keep reading and reviewing Ja Ne ;)**


	2. Meetings

_**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**_

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 _ **~~~Next Morning…**_

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 _ **~~~Konohagakure no sato~~~**_

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The shining rays of a huge fireball placed in the sky made their way past the windows of out little blonde currently snuggled up in his futon. The curled up ball in between the large room squirmed slightly, just enough to make the blanket covering him.

"Mewww!" a soft mewl rang in his room, his blanket getting plucked by something offending making him clutch it tighter in his sleep.

"Mm go away, 'm sleepy." he mumbled sleepily curling up into a little ball. But the thing clutching his blanket tried even harder now, much to his added annoyance.

"What….Kiara?!" he whispered sleepily, his baby blue eyes squinted while trying to adjust to daylight when he took in the wide brown slitted eyes of his favorite cub.

"Mewww!" she mewled softly, licking his cheek and curling up by it with a small yawn. Though Naruto regained his bearings and finally came to his senses, but even still he couldn't help the smile that lit up his face at seeing his friend there.

"How did you get here girl?" he asked her, brushing her fur to get a soft purr out of the little feline. "…you shouldn't be here Kiara, it might make me get into trouble and they'll send you away into some guarded place…" he whispered in a cautious tone, but didn't get anything more than a small twitch of her whiskers when he kissed her cheek softly.

He let out a sigh, she must have followed him back yesterday or somehow found out where he lived, but he couldn't do anything about it now.

He himself had been wanting to take her home now that she was getting bigger and a lot playful to hide in the hidden clearings behind the mountains any longer. So it was all for the better, at least for now.

He sat up, scooping the ball of fur in his arms who didn't feel much like resisting from the friendly touch she had gotten used to.

The blonde boy walked down stairs to his dining room, straight for the fridge and put the small cub on the table who was watching her unofficial master quite curiously. He filled up a bowl with the half carton of milk he had and placed it on the table, much to the joy of the little furry thing who had dug in as soon as the bowl touched the wooden surface.

He sat down on the table, his chin on his arm only to look at his lone friend fondly lapping up her milk. His finger rubbed her nose making her mewl in a hurt voice at being disturbed during her meal. He laughed though when she licked off the small droplet of milk on his finger while she was at it, getting herself a small bonk on her head.

"Glutton…" he whispered playfully, seeing the cub mewling in a hurt voice and he was glad she was here now. At least his house wouldn't be as lonely as before. He himself cut off a small piece from a loaf of bread and started on frying a couple of eggs, feeling a small nudge on his ankle.

He looked down only to see the pleading eyes of Kiara looking at him innocently, no doubt hungry from the fresh smell of frying eggs making him smile. He cut off a small piece of his omelet and threw it down, which was eaten before Naruto could even realize and watched the ball of fur nuzzle against his leg, no doubt quite content now.

"You're going to run me dry like this you gluttonous cat." he said playfully, much to the confusion of the cub who just went up on to his lap while he enjoyed his meal in silence. His eyes glanced at the clock to see it was almost nine now and he rose an eyebrow, remembering he was going to have some guests over today and grinned.

He picked the yawning cub up in his arms, instantly hopping upstairs into the bathroom.

"Alright Kiara time to get you cleaned up girl…" he said getting a yawn out of the cub who was still quite sleepy and clearly wasn't expecting what came next.

 _SPLASH…_

"MEWWW!" the cub mewled in horror when he had thrown her into the warm water of the tub and looked at him with hurt eyes when he stepped in a moment later after getting undressed himself.

"Now now, we'll have none of that, you're going to have to be clean so you don't ruin things in the house girl." he admonished the cub who enjoyed getting herself rubbed with a little bubbly shampoo massage as was felt by her purrs. The joyful bath ended when the water was cold and he drained the tub, coming out with a little cub wrapped up in a towel and being brushed off the water with some muffle mewls. He let the dry fur ball out of his grasp who jumped down and shook her body expertly to dry herself off and ran up to the small folded mattress by the side cupboard that was open and found herself a new spot to sleep.

Naruto just shook his head at the lazy cub with a smile and went onto the closet himself, sliding it open to see rows of clothes stacked up neatly, ranging from all sizes and colors.

Naruto smiled and took out his blue shirt with a little Uchiha symbol on the bottom right corner in the front and put on some black pants while running his hand through his silky locks.

 _Knock Knock…_

Naruto was surprised at hearing the knock so early, surely Tobirama wouldn't be coming this early in the morning? Right?

He ran down the stairs and opened the door with a polite bow.

"Welcome to the Uchiha residence." he spoke up politely only to get his hair ruffled playfully.

"Now no need to be so formal with your Ji-chan now is there?" the playful voice of Kagami Uchiha said, making him grin and step aside to let the man in. Kagami made his beeline straight to the living room and sat down on the couch, smiling at the boy who offered him a glass of water.

"So, I heard you came looking for me back at the Uchiha Clan Office?" he asked, getting a happy nod from the boy. He already did have a hunch as to why the boy would have wanted to meet him.

"I guess you came to me regarding your admissions to the Academy, ne?" he asked and got an instant nod from the boy.

"Don't worry I'll take care of it…" he trailed off seeing the boy shaking his head, which now had him thrown into a loop.

"No need Ojii-sanI already got my admission form signed by the Hokage." the boy answered his confusion making the man perk up in surprise. Kagami couldn't help but look at the boy in pride, that was the drive a child his age should have.

"That's great Naruto, I'm proud of you." he spoke in warm tone making the boy gaze at his lap while his cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. Kagami was still surprised that Tobirama Senju had taken the time to meet the boy on such short notice, but he remembered that the man was a bit too curious when it came to matters concerning him.

He rose an eyebrow when he saw the boy perk up,as if he had remembered something important and he was all ears for the kid he considered his nephew in all but blood.

"Tobirama Ji-chan is great too Ojii-san, he is so fun and so cool. He even brought me my signed form to the back of the Hokage monument himself and played with me a little." he said making Kagami frown a bit. Now that didn't sound the least bit like his sensei.

Tobirama Senju, playing, with a six-year-old child, the idea was laughable in itself to him.

"Naruto you're sure you went to the Hokage right?" he asked suspiciously and a bit worriedly so as to not hurt his happy demeanor in the slightest. The boy blinked innocently and pulled the form out of the side drawer to show him the proof.

"Of course I did, see he stamped this…" he said handing the man, the folded form. Kagami unfurled the paper, raising an eyebrow at the amount of mistakes and the adorable way his nephew had filled the form out. It didn't even have a photograph on it for Kami's sake, but sure enough there, in the bottom right corner donned the official stamp of the Nidaime Hokage along with his signature of approval for enrollment into the Academy year.

How his sensei, the man who prided in perfection in even the most minute of things had let this form slide, he would never know. But he had…

"See it's his sign right, plus I see him daily on the monument too you know…" the boy said with a pout making Kagami chuckle and nod. He handed the boy his form back which was put back in it's haven with the utmost care by our little blonde boy.

Then Kagami's mind wandered back to another point that might need looking into by him personally.

"Do you need some money for buying the books and starting stuff for the Academy?" he asked him, making the boy look down at his lap and shake his head.

Kagami's smile slipped seeing his state of sadness. He knew the boy never really liked asking him for money, and won't come to him for it unless it was absolutely necessary. It was one of the things he absolutely loved about the boy, yet it made his worries increase for him all the more.

But once again the boy perked up, surprising him for the second time with a wide smile when he shook his head, much to the elder Uchiha's confusion.

"Uh-uh, Tobirama Ji-chan is going to let me borrow some of his spare books and scrolls. He is going to bring them by today, isn't it awesome Ojii-san?" he asked happily and now Kagami's mind was spinning.

" _What the hell did that boy do to my sensei?"_ was all he could think off and nodded dumbly seeing the boy grin his goofy grin. Though he couldn't help but feel happy at the joyful expression on the kid's face.

"Looks like my boy has it all figured out already on his own, you really are growing big my boy." he said in a warm tone making Naruto nod happily. He stood up to take his leave, Naruto doing the same out of courtesy and walked him to the door.

"Alright then, do really well at the Academy and make me and our clan proud Naruto. We are called the elites and the best of this village for a reason. Always remember your Uchiha heritage and be proud of it alright?" He said sternly and Naruto smiled and nodded proudly.

"Hai, just you see I'll ace the Academy." Naruto boasted proudly making Kagami chuckle and pat his head a couple of times to calm him down. The boy in turn looked sheepish and bowed politely when Kagami turned to leave.

Naruto walked in going straight to the porch of his house leading to the vast gardens his estate housed. He loved them as if they were his life, his mother used to tend to them and had taught him her skills before she passed away and he took care of them as a remembrance to the times he spent here with her.

He looked down when he felt a small weight on his lap and brushed the pure white fur of the cub now rested on his lap softly.

"You're really smart Kiara, I'm glad you didn't come out in front of Ojii-san." he whispered, placing a kiss on her head to get a small purr out of the little feline and kept brushing her hair.

He saw her yawn and sighed tiredly himself, the cub was too lazy for her own good sometimes. But he loved her all the more for her antics.

 _KNOCK…KNOCK…_

Naruto's head snapped back, hearing the door's knock and he ran upstairs quickly with the little ball of fur in his arms. He ran into his room, opening the closet containing his futon and mattresses and placed the cub on them.

"Mewww?" the cub mewled in confusion, tilting her head to the side cutely. He placed a ball by her side to play with and kept another pillow that she was glad and curled up on instantly.

"Alright now you stay here and don't come out until I tell you to 'kay?" he asked not really expecting an answer and ran downstairs straight to the main door.

He opened the door and saw Tobirama standing there with his usual stoic look marred on his face and his arms crossed in front of his chest, but he was surprised to see the red headed women with her hair in two buns, the same one from yesterday standing there with him. She wore an elegant white kimono with a red obi and the Uzumaki spiral adorned on the back of it, plus, he saw strange tags with some strange markings there hanging by her head. He bowed to them politely like his mother had taught him to do if someone came to his home.

"Welcome to the Uchiha residence." He said politely and the two looked at each other with a smile at the young boy's manners and the way he held himself like a true heir of royal blood. The two sighed inwardly though, instantly noticing the differences between this blonde and the one they had at home.

They had tried to have Tsunade be just like him too, soft spoken and polite but the girl had been spoiled rotten by her grandfather before they could instill their ways of manners into her.

She had even picked up on Hashirama's gambling habits and his infamous bad luck and his legendary losing streak was even bad with the girl.

"It is our pleasure to make your acquaintance my cute little thing!" Mito cooed the boy, ruffling his hair playfully making the boy a little shy and his cheeks turned pink clearly not used to such affection from a lady.

Naruto led them into his house, unaware to himself the two took in the sights of the large yet elegant estate. It had been quite a few years since Tobirama stepped foot in this house, the last time being when he brought the news of Izuna's demise to the boy's mother. He shook of that line of thought while the boy walked them into the guest room.

The two stepped in the traditional Japanese style room and sat on the two offered cushions by the table in the middle. Several calligraphy scrolls hung on the wall as decorations, while small but faintly visible Uchiha clan symbols were carved into the wood almost everywhere.

But both the elders couldn't help but feel nostalgic at the faint amounts of thick and potent chakra still lying everywhere around the house. It belonged to the man who had carved the wood himself along with Madara Uchiha to build the house from the ground up as a symbol of alliance between the two formidable clans.

"I'll go and get some refreshments please make yourselves comfortable." he said with yet another boy and left before Mito could stop him from the formalities. She put her cheek in her palm with a pout, though smiled seeing the faintest of smirks donning on the current Senju clan head's face.

"The boy certainly is full of surprises, he holds himself like a true heir of royal blood should and his house has been well taken care of." Tobirama's stoic voice said with a hint of pride in his voice. He was always one to take note of such fine things and admire them, and the boy was scoring high marks on his list of manners and lifestyle.

Mito herself had expected everything to be a complete mess, with a small child like him having the whole house to himself she hadn't expected….well this.

But only one thing was still ringing in her mind right now.

"And he's such a sweet little munchkin too…" she cooed happily, making Tobirama sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose in exhasparation. While she was more into these things when it came to little kids. All these Uzumaki's were too impulsive for their own good sometimes.

Both their musings were cut short when the door in front of them slid open while their little host walked in with a tray full of simple and plain cookies with two cups of tea. He served them with a little sad smile.

"I'm sorry, I only have these…" he mumbled apologetically, a bit ashamed at having to serve his guests such bland looking snacks. The two glanced at each other and dismissed his little nervousness away by picking up their cups and taking a sip of their beverages.

Tobirama placed the cup down, once more taking note that the boy was sitting on his knees in a formal way rather than simply sitting comfortably like he could have. Mito too took note of it but didn't give it much thought as much as Tobirama did. He pulled out a scroll from his hip pouch, handing it over to the boy who took them with a grateful smile.

"That contains all the learning material you will need for the Academy." he stated stoically, dismissing the boy's question with his answer even before it could be brought out of his lips. Naruto nodded hesitantly, not quite understanding how a little scroll like this could be all the learning material he would need for the Academy.

Did they really teach so little at the Academy?

Was all his innocent and naive six-year-old mind could perceive at the moment. He unfurled the scroll slightly only to frown even more in confusion and looked at it inquisitively.

He couldn't understand even in the slightest what this was, maybe they would teach him another language in the Academy.

Mito let out a soft sigh seeing the boy looking at the scroll a little calculatively yet with a firm confusion now marring his face. She couldn't believe that Tobirama could imply that the boy really knew what a storage scroll was when he hadn't even had a single day at the Academy yet.

She looked at him with narrowed accusing eyes while he stared back at her impassively, not quite understanding what her problem was. She turned her eyes back to the blonde who had finally given up on trying to understand the scroll and was rolling it back up.

"Naruto…" she called out making the boy perk up and look at her questionably. She smiled seeing his wide baby blue eyes, they were such an exotic color and he looked so adorable with his narrow Uchiha features enhancing them so much. "…come on over here." she patted the space by her side. The boy though a little confused, nodded and went to sit by her side when she took the scroll in his hands and unfurled it yet again. She scooted closer to him, startling him a bit and put the scroll straight in front of him.

"Naruto this is a storage scroll…" she explained getting a nod from the boy who was now paying rapt attention to her. He loved learning something new and this must be some shinobi affair.

Though he looked on in amazement when she placed two fingers over the strange symbols and there was a small poof of smoke. His eyes widened when he saw the small pile of books and scrolls now resting atop the storage scroll.

Mito smiled at seeing his excited glimmering eyes and smirked slyly to the ever stoic Senju who had a small frown marring his face at not realizing this small fact a little earlier. Though both rose an eyebrow when the boy, instead of going for the books or scrolls concerning the Academy picked up the storage scroll from underneath them and was looking at it as if it was Kami's gift to man,

"Wow, how did this little scroll hold so many things? Is this scroll special? Why did these small markings change slightly? How many books can it hold? Where do you get these?" he asked in rapid fire, not taking his eyes off the scroll even for a moment and Mito was surprised that his eyes had caught the slight change in the seals with just a single glance.

No one ever noticed them even after going through them for years, the kid had sharp eyes she mused; smiling softly at his star-struck face while he was looking at the scroll in pure excitement.

"This Naruto is a storage scroll…" she explained patiently, taking it from his hands and he nodded looking at her for more information that she was more than happy to provide him with. "…you have to pump chakra into it to store things in it, or take them out whenever you want." she explained making him nod, but not quite convinced with her vague information which she picked up on in an instant and grinned. She loved explaining things regarding fuinjutsu to anyone willing to listen, it was such an obscure and unknown art except for members of her own clan.

She pointed her fingers on the strange markings, tracing the expertly drawn Kanji over them to start her explanation.

"These strange markings or Kanji as you can see in some, are seals or special markings that belong to a very rare and obscure branch of the shinobi arts - Fuinjutsu. These seals hold the things stored in them, placed by the user in the small and confined space of the scroll. Not that the scroll in itself is special. It is all in these seals." she explained patiently, and now the boy had a satisfied smile on his face, liking the little details in her explanation and was still in awe at the power of these small 'seals' as she called them.

"Sugoi! they must be so powerful ,if these little small markings can hold so many of our things in a simple paper scroll then the complex techniques in this branch would be amazing too…" he whispered, gazing at the scroll with a spaced out look not noticing the wide eyes of the adults who were staring at him in stunned silence.

Both glanced at each other in a seemingly silent eye-to-eye conversation and Mito smiled slyly at the prospect of having a new candidate who was willing to venture into this exotic branch of the shinobi arts at so young an age.

Naruto broke out of his stupor and instantly asked the first thing that came up in his mind.

"Will they teach this to us at the Academy too?" he asked innocently, but the hope in his eyes wasn't lost to either of them. Tobirama shook his head, breaking his heart a little at the thought of not being able to learn them in the Academy.

"Naruto, Fuinjutsu is a scarce and rarely practiced art that not many venture into of their own accord…" Mito spoke in her warm voice making him nod sadly. But he was still confused at her words.

"But why is that? It seems so cool…" he whispered, looking at the storage scroll in front of him longingly. Mito put her hand on the boy's head and brushed his silky golden locks gently. Both the elders were surprised how interested the boy looked into learning this non-flashy and boring art.

"You really are a surprising child my little one, most children love ninjutsu or taijutsu since they look and seem so cool and all but brush off Fuinjutsu since they are only simple markings or calligraphy arts combined with a little basic ninjutsu to create something much more complex. It is really rare for one to take an interest in it on their own." she explained patiently, getting a small nod from the boy while she kept brushing his soft hair she adored so much right now.

She couldn't help but gush at his adorable yet saddening crest fallen expression.

"It is the specialty of my clan you know…" she said making him perk up with a smile. "…it is only learnt by a rare few outside my clan and even within us, only a rare few ever get the honor of being called masters at this art. It is the most complex art known to the shinobi world." she stated and saw the boy turn his gaze back to the storage scroll with a small bout of silence reigning in the room now.

Both Tobirama and Mito looked on in curiosity at what the boy might say next seeing his contemplative face.

For Naruto, it intrigued him to no end. In his mind it was utterly stupid that they didn't teach this at the Academy. So what if it was hard, that made it all the more reason for anyone to learn it.

"Where can I get books on Fuinjutsu?" he finally asked, breaking the bout of silence and Mito smiled widely at his words. For Tobirama, he was at a loss of words.

Normally, children his age ventured into ninjutsu or even kenjutsu since it looked so cool and flashy, peeking their innocent attention a lot. But this young boy was something else.

Now Mito was especially intrigued by the kid no matter if he was an Uchiha, Fuinjutsu prospecting students were rare enough to think of such trivial things. She turned the boy's face to her by her finger placed on his right cheek and gave him a little smile.

"Well I am not so bad at Fuinjutsu, why don't I show you a few things and we'll see if maybe you want to pursue learning the art in the future or not?" she asked him curiously and Naruto beamed at the nice lady with a happy nod.

"Really, you'll teach me?" he asked her with a voice of uncertainty but grinned when she nodded with a smile. " …when can we start?" he asked happily and she giggled at the boy's enthusiasm.

"Well we could start now but I don't think you have a calligraphy kit with you so I'll have to bring one tomo…" she was cut off as Naruto spoke up.

"What is this calligraphy kit, I may have it. What does it contain?" he asked and she giggled shaking her head.

"No Naruto-kun, it is rare for someone other than the Uzumaki clan members to have a sealing calligraphy kit with them…" again Naruto spoke up making her surprised when she saw his vigorous shaking of head.

"Madara-jiji's library has so many things in it along with my father's. I don't know what all of them are or how to use them all, but maybe you can find this sealing kit in there?" he asked her, not wanting to miss a chance at learning Fuinjutsu even in the slightest. Mito was surprised but the idea now certainly seemed plausible, and she nodded at the boy who smiled happily and stood up while taking her hand in his own.

She followed him with a smile while he escorted them through the hallways of his house, this time Mito and Tobirama truly saw how beautiful the house truly was, never having explored it so much before.

Naruto stopped in front of a sliding door with the Uchiha clan symbol embossed over it proudly. He slid it open and stepped in with the two elders following him in to see what had Madara really kept in his house.

Their eyes widened in unison to epic proportions at seeing the sight that was now in front of them. The room had shelves after shelves in several rows, each of them stacked full of scrolls and various other items concerning the shinobi affairs or his clan materials.

Tobirama turned his eyes to the right, to see the last row stocked full of weapons of all kinds but two of them caught his eyes.

There hung on the wall, were Madara Uchiha's personal war fan and Izuna Uchiha's personal Katana. It made several memories of battling against the bearers of the two weapons, stored in such pristine condition fly into his mind. He walked on to the second row with scrolls, and saw them all arranged in several sections of nin, tai and genjutsu.

There were jutsu scrolls of all ranks and elements, even non-elementals were categorized separately from the elemental ones. It was quite probably larger than the village's own personal library, that in itself was filled more that three fourth's of the contents provided by the members of the Uchiha clan with them using their Sharingan to document the techniques they learnt from various enemies of various lands.

His family too must have documented and preserved each and every thing they had scoured over the generations and kept them here for safekeeping. But that in itself raised a peculiar question in his mind.

"Naruto do you by any chance know why your clan elders haven't taken this all in and absorbed this into the clan's property?" he asked the boy, his voice laced in disbelief while unfurling a simple D-rank jutsu scroll to see the personal signature of none other than Madara Uchiha himself at the end of it.

And he was surprised yet again when the boy nodded simply. The weapons section alone was enough for the clan to raise hell over a single family possessing it and try and absorb it into the clan's funds which wasn't taking into account the amount of knowledge that was amassed in here. Mito too was shocked herself that the little boy knew of the reason why his clan hadn't pulled it in themselves and absorbed it for the clan's strength.

"Hai! Kaa-chan told me when she brought me here sometimes…" he whispered, sadness clearly lacing his voice. "…only someone closely related to our family can enter this room. I don't know how it is, but she told me that this room recognizes our blood and chakra signature and only when it sees that it is someone from my family can they enter it. No one has ever been here except you too till today…" he explained innocently, looking for the small kit Mito had told him about and not seeing the completely baffled and shell shocked faces of the adults behind him.

Mito though looked around and narrowed her eyes at the markings on laced all over the walls of the room. It was embedded with several layers of security, privacy and silencing seals. Nothing short of breaking in done by a full blown seal master after hours of breaking through the sequence of seals would one be able to access this room.

Clearly whoever set this up, didn't want anyone to be sneaking around here without his/her permission. And knowing the kinds of people the previous two owners of this house were, it wasn't the least bit surprising to the Uzumaki clan heiress. The two were very strict when it came to privacy in their lives and this showed it to the fullest.

"Then why have you brought us here Naruto? It is a family heirloom that has been protected by your family for generations, why show this to us?" Asked the ever curious Tobirama. Mito wanted to scold the man for such a blunt and rude question that could be taken as an insult for the boy's courtesy to them, but she was curious to this as well so she let it slide this time and opened all ears to the blonde boy rummaging through the shelves with his tongue sticking out in frustration at not being able to find the kit in this treasure room of a place.

"I trust you two…" came his answer with a small cough when he found something old and full of dust, making them quite surprised when he continued on. "…Kaa-chan told me only to bring those in here that I trust completely, and never bring anyone from my clan here since they might try to take this all. But I trust you two after all Tobirama Ji-chan is the Hokage and Lady Mito is really nice too, you guys brought me books and helped me get in the Academy. Lady Mito even offered to teach me, no one's ever been this nice to me…" was all he could say when his shoulders were caught and he was turned around only to gaze into the warm violet eyes of the crimson haired woman.

"Naruto don't call me Lady Mito…" she whispered softly, cupping his cheek in her hand and loved the affection with which he looked at her laced with his complete confusion at her words. "…call me Mito Baa-chan from now on, okay?" she asked gently and he nodded a bit embarrassed when she scooped him in her arms for a hug.

She walked with the boy through several shelves, her face still showing surprise at finding some basic level Fuinjutsu scrolls stacked in the shelves too. She was guessing that this sealing work was quite probably done by Madara himself.

Tobirama though was scouring through his particular interest - Ninjutsu scrolls. He hadn't found anything that had peeked his interest for now, and for the life of him there wasn't even a single forbidden jutsu scroll in there. For that, he was glad as well as disappointed. Glad that a kid as curious as him didn't have dangerous things to tinker with in his leisure time, and disappointed at not finding anything particularly of interest to him.

"Naruto, you say you haven't brought any Uchiha here…" Tobirama's voice rang through the room getting a simple nod from the boy. Tobirama nodded in affirmative, gazing at the jet black blade encased on the wall safely making him remember his battle with the Last Uchiha clan head. "…that includes Kagami too right?" he asked and got yet another nod, surprising him quite a bit knowing how close he was to the boy.

"Kaa-chan made me promise to never bring another Uchiha in here no matter what, and only those from outside that I could trust completely. So I didn't tell Kagami Ojii-san since he is an Uchiha." he spoke innocently and Mito smiled at the blind faith the little boy had in them. Tobirama too was happy but the boy was quite naive right now, any clan no matter who it was, would give just about anything to get their hands on the things collected in this room to get a chance at increasing their own strengths. He himself had half a mind to absorb it all into the village archives but he couldn't touch a family heirloom like this from a boy to whom it meant the world.

Mito crouched down and and looked him straight in the eyes with a serious look on her face.

"Naruto-kun now you have to promise me another thing just like you did for your Kaa-chan. You will that for me won't you?" she asked him in her gentle tone getting an instant nod from the boy who had simply no qualms with it.

"Don't bring or even tell anyone about this room other than us. You don't know what people would do to get their hands on this if they knew what was here. Promise me the room stays a secret with only us knowing about it." She asked softly and Naruto nodded innocently trusting the woman. After all she said the same thing his Kaa-chan told him and she was always right in his mind.

"Hai, I promise you Mito Baa-chan." He said in his soft yet melodic voice making the woman smile and ruffle his hair playfully. She caught his chin in her fingers and placed her lips on his forehead.

"Let's go, I found it." she spoke playfully getting a grin out of the boy. She took his hand in her own and led him out, looking behind her to see Tobirama still scouring the place like a hungry scavenger.

"Let's go…" she said firmly, leaving no room for arguments and pulling the man out by his collar who yelled out protests in return that he wanted to stay a little longer like a child.

Tobirama followed the two with a slight slump in his shoulders at being denied the chance to learn something new but his face lit up with a slight smirk seeing the two in front of him walking hand in hand. He stayed silent and cherished the two interacting in front of them silently, the boy's innocence and kind heart was really contagious.

He had already wormed his way into his heart and he already knew that Mito adored the boy with all her being, having found herself an apprentice she had long since given up looking on after her repeated failures at scouring for one.

They sat back in the living room while Mito had pulled the boy onto her lap, much to his embarrassment but she wasn't taking any of it. She placed her chin over his head and pulled open the calligraphy kit, getting down to business now.

She showed him the proper way to rub an ink stone and showed him how it was done so he could follow in her lead. He did as he was asked patiently, rubbing the required ink off the stone for their practice session, Mito wouldn't tell him right now, but this was a moment every seal master cherished when he decided to take on an apprentice.

She took a brush in her hands, instead of using the support between her index finger and thumb, she placed it in he hands on merely her fingertips for the added precision that was needed for the art of sealing.

Naruto looked at her hand with narrowed eyes and took a brush in the same way in his left hand, once more surprising her with a new edge she found in him.

"Alright Naruto no watch this closely alright?" she asked in but a whisper feeling his head bob up and down under her chin. Her hand expertly traced the Kanji for 'Fire' on the blank sheet in front of her. Naruto tried to do the same, though his ending strokes came a bit sloppy as was expected of someone trying their first hand at the art of calligraphy.

Tobirama smiled, sipping on some tea he had poured from the kettle the boy had been kind enough to bring them earlier and watched on the boy's shaky hands take their first steps into the obscure field of sealing. He was still surprised that even after two hours straight of silent whispers and the finesse laced brushwork, he didn't seem to be letting p anytime soon. He had tried the same with Tsunade but alas she was a bit too hot headed and loved taijutsu instead of the boring art that was 'sealing'.

Mito noticed it too, glancing at the clock to see how late it truly was and caught his hand with the brush, kissing the back of his head gently to halt his calligraphy session for the day. He looked back, a little peeved and mostly confused but smiled when he saw the smiling face of the crimson haired woman he sat on top of.

"That's enough for today Naruto-kun, it's already time for the sun to set." she answered his query before it be brought out making him look out the glass door in the room and have wide eyes at seeing the slightly darkening sky showing how late it truly was.

He got off her lap and both elders stood up from their interesting day, smiling at the boy who walked them out to the door. The two turned around, reaching his doorstep getting a polite bow out of the boy.

"Thank you for taking the time to visit and teach me, it was really nice. Arigato." he spoke in his soft tone making Mito crouch down and poke his nose playfully.

"Thank you for having us my adorable little thing, now you come to my house tomorrow after Academy lets you off and we'll start off where we left today, alright?" she asked making the boy beam and wrap his arms around her neck making her giggle and hug him back equally happily.

"But where do you live Baa-chan?" he asked after a moment realizing he didn't even ask for her address as of yet.

"Just ask anyone near the eastern ends of the clan districts for the small Uzumaki clan compounds and you'll be hushed up to me easily. So come anytime, I free and alone all day long so don't worry about the time, it would be nice to have such nice company with me from now on." she chirped up in a chipper tone getting a small grin out of the blonde and she grinned back.

Tobirama, not a man for many words as usual said his simple 'good bye' and left with a curt nod of gratefulness for having them at his place.

After a small dinner with his little cub who had slept her way straight through the day to hide in his room, he was out like a light as soon as he hit his futon and slept with a smile to look forward to his days at the Academy from tomorrow onward.

 **Next Morning…**

Naruto woke up with a start and grinned happily. Today was the day he finally went to the Academy! He looked by his pillow side to see the cub sleeping soundly and picked her up waving her up in the air. The cub woke up with a start and looked around itself in confusion.

"Mewww!" it mewled when Naruto had started rubbing his cheek with hers and she nuzzled herself against her master.

"Today's the day girl! I am joining the Academy today." he chirped up, rolling his futon up and placing it in the closet. He jogged into the bathroom, taking a bath after catching the scurrying cub who ran away as soon as she saw the filled tub but to no avail as she was thrown unceremoniously in the water once again.

He cooked up a small breakfast, giving the cub some milk and bacon, while leaving some milk in her bowl for until he returned. He hurriedly packed up the things and books marked for first year in his bag and ran up realizing he was still clad in his towel, forgetting to get dressed in excitement.

But today he ran into his parent's room, walking in he felt a little sad at seeing the lonely room and some wrinkled sheets lying on the bed. He hadn't made the bed up ever since this room lay vacant, it gave him a little remembrance for his parents.

"I'm going to the Academy today Tou-san, wish me luck…" he whispered to the walls and walked to the closet in the room. Instantly he saw clothes stacked up in rows neatly in a layered way having three rows of them ranging from all sizes. His father bought clothes and either wore them once or simply kept them in storage since he didn't like them when it finally became the time to wear them. So they were mostly in pristine condition, thus the reason he never got worried for buying any clothes.

But he dared no touch anything that looked like it had seen some life. Those were precious and he cherished them for life. He picked out a brand new looking white full sleeves shirt with a high collar having emblazoned the Uchiha symbol on each of it's ends and a small emboss near the back nape of his neck. He put on a pair of blue pants and some blue sandals to go along with them, this was apparently the look he had seen his father wear in pictures and it made him happy he could look like him even just a little to try and imitate the man.

He swung his side back on by his waist and ran down to see the cub waving it's tail while waiting for him at the doorstep. He picked the cute thing up in his arms and brought her to eye level, getting a curious stare from the cub who leaned closer and licked his nose to get a giggle out of him.

"Alright girl, now I'll be back by evening. I've put the milk in the kitchen in your usual bowl for lunch and some spare meat I cooked for my sandwiches. So take care of the house while I'm gone and don't make a mess of the place 'kay?" he asked but got a simple tilt of the head to the side while she licked her nose with a yawn, no doubt oblivious to his words.

He let out a soft sigh and dropped the fur ball down on her feet who ran into his room, no doubt to sleep and he walked out, shaking his head with a smile. At least someone waved him off from home on his first day, he couldn't help but think in happiness and ran into his clan's streets towards the Academy with an extra hop to his step.

He couldn't even care less for all the snide remarks and looks being sent his way when he ventured out of his clan grounds, he was just too happy to be bothered by them.

 **Konoha Ninja Academy**

Naruto walked up to the main gates of the Academy, but was surprised when he turned the corner only to see the whole area in front of the gates completely barren and devoid of life. He had expected many children and their parents to wave them off and he checked the time on a streets clock to see he wasn't late. It was still nine and they were supposed to be at the Academy timings at 9:30 so he was a little early in fact.

He walked into the building, looking around the hallways which were going to be a big part of his life for the next few years with unbridled curiosity. His heart soared when he heard the several hushed voices coming through the closed doors making him smile. He walked to the assigned room number he was given when Tobirama had given him his assigned form and took a deep breath, standing outside the door with a smile.

He slid it open, instantly turning nervous when he saw the population residing in the room clearly wasn't what he was expecting. The parents were in there too along with their children and all eyes were on him as soon as he opened the door. But he saw most of them narrowing their eyes at him after a moment and he looked down a bit to ignore them, but it still hurt him to see those on his first day.

"Can I help you young man?" he was startled by a male voice when a man wearing a green vest and shinobi clothes along with the village's headband stood in front of him with a start. Though he did smile a small relieved smile seeing the man's warm smile and kind eyes looking on at him in pure curiosity. He pulled out his signed form, handing it to the man who took it with a curt nod.

"I am assigned to this class sir." he spoke softly and as politely as he could making the man smile. He turned his eyes back to the blonde with a raised eyebrow.

"Then why are you so late? All children were supposed to be here an hour earlier with their parents for an introductory orientation. Didn't the lady handing out the forms inform your parents of this?" he asked making Naruto look at his feet and shake his head negatively.

"I don't have any parents, and my form wasn't taken from the Academy sir, someone gave me an extra." he answered the man's question in his soft voice making the man turn a bit saddened at his reply.

" _An orphan, such a small age at that…"_ he thought sadly, and nodded at the boy. He looked onto the details of the form he was handed. He rose an eyebrow reading his clan name, quite happy he had got an Uchiha to teach. Though they did narrow in dangerously on the paper when he read his father's name on the sloppily filled paper.

His gaze turned up to the boy, now with a slight glare instead of the warm eyes he had treated him earlier with.

" _He is related to them huh?"_ he thought venomously, while the blonde boy in question was now looking at his feet to avoid those venomous eyes glaring at him. He put the form down for him to take back.

"Go and take a seat." he spoke dismissively while Naruto trodded away from the man who wasn't the least bit amused at his presence right now.

Instantly his heart broke, seeing all the parents and guardians pulling their children away from him harshly as if he were the plague. His eyes watered hearing their hushed whispers telling their children how he was a 'bad boy' and to stay away from him since he was nothing but trouble like his forefathers before him. He stood all alone in a corner and stared at his bag with a bitten lip to control his tears from falling.

The teacher told them all to take a seat when the bell rang and the parents started making their way out. He walked up, instantly seeing all the children covering the seat by their sides with their things so that he could not sit with them. He ignored them all and walked up into the corner seat by the window with a small sad smile.

" _Looks like I won't be making any friends any time soon…"_ he thought sadly, looking up when the teacher opened up his register and started calling out rolls. He looked out the window at the bird's nest in the tree knowing his name would be in the end with his surname being Uchiha.

 _SWISH…CLACK….HUFF HUFF…._

Naruto looked back, his cheek resting in his palm at the sudden commotion that had made it's way to the door of their classroom curiously. It was a huffing blonde girl, with hair a little less golden than him and hazelnut honey brown eyes, she was wearing a simple white thigh length kimono and her hair were done up in a high pony tail.

"Sorry sensei, I slept it…" she mumbled her apology quickly, panting while she walked in and handed the man her scrunched up form. He read it and his eyes perked up when he read her surname along with her parents and guardian's names in it. He handed her the form back with a smile, forgetting any and all scolding or punishment from the shock of having just had the heir to the prestigious Senju clan walking in.

She trudged up the steps, seeing a couple of empty seats by some children still available. The first one had a boy with a smug and prideful smile along with two red tattoos marking his cheeks. She ignored it, and walked up leaving a seething Inuzuka there who was quite angry at being dismissed so simply. She saw yet another seat, this time belonging by a boy who had the classic onyx black eyes and hair and that same high almighty attitude she knew too well about.

" _Uchiha…"_ she thought with a frown and ignored this seat almost immediately. Her eyes scanned the room, finally resting on the back corner of the class where a blonde haired boy sat, with peculiar baby blue eyes she hadn't ever seen before. Though she did smile at having found a seat for herself and hopped in by his side with a grin.

Naruto looked on surprised when the girl took a seat by his side instead of all the other vacant ones. But he was even more surprised when she placed her bag in her desk sloppily, with it's handle half hanging out and turned her gaze to him with a wide smile.

"Hi I'm Tsunade, Tsunade Senju. Nice to meet you…" she trailed off putting her hand forward for him to shake. Naruto had a wide smile himself as he looked on at the offered hand and nodded, beaming in joy.

"I'm Naruto, Naruto Uchiha. Nice to meet you to…." he trailed of halfway in his words when the girl pulled her hand back with a huff. He pulled his hand back and looked away towards the window to hide his misty eyes, filled with unshed tears threatening to break free of their confines. She hated him too as soon as she knew his name. He didn't glance in her direction for the fear of aggravating her any further than he already might have done.

Tsunade was surprised when the boy had extended his hand along with an introduction even after hearing her full name. But she wasn't going to be falling for any pranks or snide remarks from him, those damned Uchiha kids always did that with her and she hated them with a passion.

She did feel a little sad though when she caught sight of his sad gaze while he stared out the window. She had half expected some sort of arrogant remark or a revers taunt but nothing of the sort came from the boy. He sat in silence with her doing the same, and looking back to the front with a blank face.

Her day couldn't start off any worse than…

"Tsunade Senju!" the voice rang in the room making her ears perk up at her teacher's call and she called out a 'Hai', and concentrated on the man now.

"Naruto Uchiha!" she couldn't help but see the small glare the teacher sent her side partner's way when the boy mumbled a soft 'Hai' and looked away.

"Alright class we'll start with some history lessons today…" the teacher called out making Tsunade let out groan inwardly. She hated history with a passion, it made her sleep when her granduncle tried to drill their clan history into her thick skull.

The teacher went through his text book lesson, while she tried not to pull her hair out in frustration to not fall asleep from that thrice damned history lecture. Her cheeks puffed up childishly in annoyance seeing many of the kids around her had already dozed off halfway through the long lecture and turned her eyes to her side.

Her eyebrow rose in surprise at seeing her partner paying rapt attention to the lecture as if it was the most interesting thing he had done all morning and she frowned seeing him jot down little notes in his notebook in between the teacher's pauses.

" _Only these stupid Uchiha's can pay so much attention to these boring lectures…"_ she pouted to herself and slammed her head on her desk to keep herself awake through the lecture. Naruto opened up his book for reference, seeing many little side notes made there which were quite helpful to him as well as gave him some additional knowledge on the topics being explained, while he kept up with both the book and his sensei in full attention.

The teacher looked up when he heard a small yawn only to see half his class asleep and sighed tiredly. Well he couldn't expect anything else in a history lesson, he supposed.

 _RRRIINNNGGG….._

The bell rang making all the children jerk awake in unison, when the teacher snapped his book shut and told them of the taijutsu lessons after the lunch break was over.

Naruto packed his books and took out his sandwich, unwrapping the plastic wrapping and munched a soft bite out of his self made lunch. Everyone pulled out their home made lunches and bentos.

Tsunade grinned, taking out her back and popping her hand in to pull out the bento her mother had made for her. Her eyebrows furrowed while she rummaged for her lunch only for it to turn into a full blown scowl before her face marred one of pure horror. She remembered her mother calling out to her and keeping her lunch on the table but she didn't remember herself putting it in, while she was running around the house due to being so late…

She slammed her head on the desk and let out a soft sigh. She had forgotten it at home…

Naruto looked to the side after hearing her sigh and was a little confused as to why the girl hadn't brought out her lunch yet. Well, she was a little late in the morning so…

"Did you forget your lunch?" he asked nervously, making her look at him with irritated eyes. She huffed and looked away, feeling a bit embarrassed that he had pinned the reason right in on the first try.

"Why do you ask? Going to compare me to the elite Uchiha…" her snarl trailed off with an innocent blink of confusion seeing a wrapped sandwich being forced into her hands. She looked at him stunned, no one else had bothered asking why she wasn't eating except for offering her to sit with them that she had refused as politely as she could in her hungry state.

"Why are you giving me this?" she asked in a baffled voice, figuring it must be some sort of prank while Naruto had his innocent look on her and gave her a blink of confusion.

"Well we do have taijutsu lessons after lunch…" he pointed out making her nod, but not quite getting his point. "…so it will have a lot of physical training and you'll need our energy. You wouldn't be able to go through them on an empty stomach. I brought an extra with me in case I got late for home so you can have it if you want…" he told her and went back to munching on his sandwich in silence.

The silence was eating away at Tsunade's heart while she stared at the food in her hands with a bitten lip. The guilt was eating away on her now, she hadn't even talked to him nicely yet he was the only one kind enough to see her plight and offer her his food.

"I'm sorry…" she mumbled in a soft whisper, her cheeks pink in embarrassment at having to apologize to a classmate on her first day. Naruto though didn't hear her whisper in the whole loud racket in their class and looked on at her curiously.

"I'm sorry I didn't hear you, can you repeat it…" he trailed off seeing her glare at him with her puffed out cheeks.

"I said I'm sorry for treating you the way that I did alright?" she asked quickly, her face turning tomato red from the effort it took to get out an apology out of her heart.

"But don't expect me to repeat it…" she mumbled in an embarrassed voice making the boy blink in confusion. Why he want to do that?  
"Because I won't, get it?" she asked him sternly and he merely nodded dumbly, not quite getting why she was getting so hyper. Maybe she was a lot hungry he answered to himself intelligently and munched on in silence.

"And thank you for sharing your food with me…" she mumbled as an afterthought, this time surprising him. No one had ever thanked him before, so it did embarrass him a little and he merely nodded timidly, munching on his lunch with a smile.

Tsunade dug in her sandwich and her eyes widened in surprise at the strange burst of flavors in her mouth. It was unlike anything she had ever had before, a bit weird but still nice. She thought it was perfect a moment later and devoured the sandwich hungrily. She choked on a large bite a bit at the end, and gulped down the offered water bottle half in a single gulp while patting her chest. Naruto smiled that she liked his cooking, as little as he knew for himself and kept going through his own at a slow albeit calm pace.

"So why aren't you being mean to me?" she asked making him stop in his small bites and look at her with a confused look, his head tilted to show his confusion quite clearly to her.

"I'm sorry I don't get you…" he said cutely after a moment of silence between them and she merely stared at him incredulously.

"You're an Uchiha right?" she asked pointing to him with her finger for emphasis of her point getting a nod from the boy. "And I'm a Senju?" she asked yet again, getting yet another nod from the boy who remembered her name from the morning introduction but wasn't seeing her point. He stared on at her innocently while she was staring at him expectantly for a sudden breakthrough.

"Sorry but I'm still not getting you." he finally said to break the thick silence making her head drop tiredly. Was she going to have to explain everything around here?

"Our clans have been enemies for generations, so all Uchiha kids try to bully me or play pranks on me. So in a wrap they are plain old mean to me, why aren't you doing the same?" she asked him curiously while he merely bit down his last bite while popping open his bottle for a drink.

"Well you haven't done anything to me, so being mean to you just for being a Senju is quite stupid." he said simply and she was surprised at his simple yet deep words. She grinned and shook her hands free off the bread crumbs, to extend it for a shake when he finished drinking water from his bottle and popped it close.

"Then I guess we can be friends, so let's start again. I'm Tsunade Senju nice to meet'cha!" she chirped up happily making the boy smile. He wiped his hands with his handkerchief making her quite embarrassed that she hadn't done the same, but she had probably forgotten that at home too she thought in silent embarrassment when he shook her hand with a grin.

"I'm Naruto Uchiha it's nice to meet you too." he said in a chipper tone making her grin and nod when they finally shook hands at the start of a new friendship.

"Alright class, it's time for your first taijutsu lesson, so everybody come out now." the teacher called out from the door making them all start to walk out with Naruto and Tsunade walking out together in the back.

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : There is the next chapter. I know it ends a bit before than the original but frankly, I guess I got a bit tired towards the end. But tell you what, I have finally gotten the whole plot of this story set up in my mind along with the various enemies, situations and how the complete Second Shinobi World War will play out. Naruto will have gradual progression through each of his ranks like a shinobi should have unlike the manga where from stupid he went to genin, to low jounin and straight to High Kage and other worldly levels (no pun intended). Naruto will see how the war changes himself and how he works hi way through the horrors of his rank to finally feeling and walking down the path to fulfilling his dream.**_

 _ **Romance will be there but it will be after the story's action picks up in the next couple of chapters and don't worry action will be loaded too. Don't question me when he'll get Mangekyou, please it gets annoying reading that same thing each story or that will their kids get Rinnegan. I swear we have only started yet so don't put those two up there. Any critical reviews for my writing flaws are highly appreciated and I'll take them into consideration in case they aren't purely flames for the story. This is a plot solely based on my own and loosely based on canon so expect a new approach to fanfiction now other than banishment and neglection fics. I can't tell you how excited I personally am for this after thinking the whole plot through now and I'll try and update as frequently as I can.**_

 _ **So until next time keep reading and reviewing Ja Ne ;)**_

 _ **PS : I have ended this here since I needed to change the first fight of this story completely after I re-read my first attempt at it wasn't quite nice to see Naruto so unskilled and beaten to the ground quite that easily, so expect a new fight next time alright? And I even noted I forgot to add that Naruto had a lesson with Mito after the Academy last time, so a re write fixed out that loop hole too :D**_


	3. Bonds

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Konoha Ninja Academy**

* * *

All the fresh admissions of the Academy students stood in the open clearing they were led into by their new instructor. The teacher picked up on his clipboard having the names and details of all the new students in his palms. He coughed to get the attention of them all, getting quite successful when all the wide and curious eyes turned to him.

"Alright, this is the first day of our regular weekly Academy taijutsu spars we'll have from now on. Now before we begin, go and run a couple of laps around the Academy for a little warm up." he spoke up, getting nods from them. All the students starting running with Naruto and Tsunade flanking the back of the group.

"Why do we have to *huff* run for this?" Tsunade asked, huffing in her jog after they had taken a complete round of the Academy grounds which were quite large in themselves.

"We have to warm up so we don't hurt ourselves in the spars, plus we just had lunch, so sensei must want us to warm up first." Naruto answered calmly, not at all fazed at running the laps they were ordered. He thanked his little furry friend for that, she could be quite a handful so he was quite used to running laps behind the agile feline.

"You *huff* have an answer for everything *huff* don't you?" she asked in annoyance, her breathing a bit labored but not losing as much as a speck of speed. Naruto though didn't quite get her point at this.

"Huh?" he asked intelligently, making Tsunade try to sigh but instead she panted and shook her head. Naruto just looked on ahead with a nod when the end came and Tsunade collapsed on to her knees from exhaustion. Naruto himself placed his palms on them and took deep breaths to calm down the blood rush.

"Alright class that was very nice for your first day, I'm glad all of you completed your laps." the teacher's proud voice rang in the clearing getting smiles from them all.

"Now come on and gather up around the ring…" he said and all of them stood up shakily, completely exhausted from running while Naruto straightened up with a deep breath. He saw Tsunade still sitting and not looking to get up anytime soon and smiled at his lone friend sprawled on the ground right now.

"Come on let's go." he said softly, extending his hand while placing the other hand on his knee with a soft smile. Tsunade looked up, brushing her flailing bangs from her face to look into the twinkling baby blue eyes as well as the outstretched hand in front of her. But for the first time she noticed how pretty his eyes were, not at all like all the other Uchiha's plain black eyes and put her own hand in his with a grin.

He pulled her up and she dusted her kimono off when she caught him in a headlock much to his confusion. She couldn't let him think she wasn't able to get up on her own after all.

"That doesn't mean I couldn't get up on my own, get it?" she asked sternly, making him a little confused yet again but he nodded dumbly, figuring that was the best thing to do right now. She grinned and nodded, placing her hands behind her back with a cheeky smile and walked along with him to the sparring ring.

"Now children, I'll introduce all of you to the sacred tradition of shinobi hand to hand combat. These were used by our Hokages themselves to toughen them up…" he said, perking up most of the ears around the ring.

"We will go through one-on-one paired combat exercises to simulate a situation of real combat and let you have the experience needed when you further your shinobi careers. I'll explain the rules along with the spar so can Ensui Nara and Hyosuke Hyuga please enter the ring?" he called out and the two boys stepped in the ring. One with his hair in a high albeit lazily tied ponytail while the other had his clan's signature pupil-less white eyes to signify his clan status for him.

"Alright now both of you raise your hand like this…" he showed them a half ram seal in front of his chest and both copied the man. "… this is called the seal of confrontation, it usually marks the beginning of a jutsu so it signifies your willingness to fight an opponent. When you end the spar you both clasp the seals together as a mark of good will and friendship to your opponent, this is called the seal of reconciliation. So now, do the both of you get this much?" he asked the two, instead getting nods from the all of them around the ring in unison.

"So now I'll explain the rules of engagement. The fight ends either when the opponent is put in a position where he can't fight back. No weapons or jutsus except kunais can be used, and that too for only hand to hand combat. No maiming or fatal blows to harm your opponent are allowed. The person who steps outside the ring loses automatically too and I can step in at any moment to stop the spar if I see someone is going to get hurt, do I make myself clear…" he asked sternly, getting nods from the two boys and smiled raising his hand.

"Then let's have an honorable first spar, Hajime!" he called out with Hyosuke dropping in his usual Gentle Fist stance. Though all of them were confused when Ensui turned around and started walking away until he was finally outside the ring. Thick silence reigned in the clearing at the strange actions of the Nara boy.

"Ensui what are you doing?" the teacher finally asked the boy, who merely let out a lazy yawn and shrugged.

"You said that stepping out of bounds signifies defeat sensei, so I willingly lost since one of us must lose for this troublesome spar to end. It is merely logical for me to do so, to end it as quickly as possible, more so since it is too much work…" he mumbled, lazily scratching his head making the teacher slap his hand over his face. Everyone snickered at the teacher's expense who decided to let it go since this was only the first day. And it wasn't surprising for someone from the Nara clan to do this, they were renowned for it actually.

"Alright just please make the seal of reconciliation before you go, if that is not too much work that is…" the teacher said dryly, and sighed tiredly when they did. Though Hyosuke did have a small scowl on his face at not getting his spar as he had wanted to but said nothing in the end and both walked out.

The teacher rummaged through the list and smiled when he read the next two names out loud.

"Akio Inuzuka and Jin Uchiha, step into the ring please…' his voice rang out through the silence of the clearings. The two boys in question stepped forward, their faces completely polar opposites to that of their opponent.

Akio had simple shaggy brown hair with the classic red Inuzuka tattoos donned over his cheeks. His teeth having two feral canines like all the Inuzukas were displayed on show with his smug and prideful grin.

Jin on the other hand was an Uchiha straight through to the text book. The boy had the signature onyx black eyes with matching spiky raven hair of his clan. The boy's eyes looked bored while his face was stoic, trying to hide the little excitement that came at the prospect of facing his first opponent in combat.

"Alright today's my day. I get to beat an Uchiha down into the ground on my very first day, talk about luck!" Akio boasted proudly, but frowned when he heard a scoff from his opponent.

"As if…" Jin muttered but Akio's sharp ears picked up on his whisper and he scowled.

"You've got something to say?" he growled out heatedly, getting yet another snort from the ever stoic Uchiha.

"I said as if a mutt like you could ever even hope to touch me, an Uchiha. We are called the elites of the village for a reason, and I'll show the reason to you right now." he stated confidently, without a hint of doubt in his voice making the Inuzuka glare at him. His fangs were bared while he looked ready to rip his head apart if need be.

"We'll just see about that…" he spoke angrily, dropping into the first kata of the Inuzuka's widely known Fanged Taijutsu Style.

"That we will…" Jin spoke up, entering the most basic of Uchiha clan's many taijutsu stances. The Uchiha clan had seemingly created many stances over the years by embedding many of their copied stances and modifying them to be used with their Sharingan. Only a select few still used the original and ancient stances of the old times that belonged purely to them now, most of them being considered long since forgotten so seemingly every Uchiha fought in a different way than the other to appear deceptive and unpredictable to enemy shinobi.

"Alright that's enough, break it off you two. Now make the seal of confrontation…" the teacher ordered and nodded when the two boys did so, albeit a bit reluctantly in Jin's case. He pulled his hand up over his head and brought it down to signal the start of the match.

"Hajime" his voice rang through the clearing and Akio was off in a flash. He charged forward with a battle cry, rushing his opponent by running towards him. Jin merely stood fast in his own stance, letting the boy make the first move and have his fun while he was at it.

Akio cocked his fist back behind his head and brought it forward. Jin merely slapped it away with the back of his hand to let it whiz past his ear and blocked his left fist with his own right palm. The raven haired kid went to put a huge uppercut under his chin and seemingly end the match but the Inuzuka jumped back a couple of steps to break off their little bout.

Jin yet again dropped into his defensive stance and put his palm in front of his face. His hand made a motion to his opponent to urge him to attack. Akio saw his taunt coupled with his arrogant smirk and the Inuzuka clan's legendary temper kicked in. All he saw was red.

He charged forward, jumping up and aiming a kick for the Uchiha's neck. Jin brought his right arm up and blocked it with his forearm, aiming for his opponent's torso with his free left hand. The blow being quite weak from the lack of precision the completely angered boy was putting behind it.

Akio, still unbalanced from his angered and blind charge, could do nothing more than watch the incoming strike to his stomach and brace for impact while he landed on his feet with a little stumble. Jin mustered up all his strength into the strike, twisting his wrist and embedding his fist into the boy's solar plexus who stumbled back a couple of feet and fell to his knees, clutching his aching stomach with an agonized cough.

Jin ran in and jumped up, twisting his body in mid-air to make his right heel make contact with the feral boy's cheek who rolled sideways and out of the ring's boundary line.

 _CLAP CLAP CLAP…._

The whole audience around the ring clapped for the two, especially the teacher who was pretty loud and felt proud to have such a great spar on seemingly his first day.

"Excellent you two, I couldn't be prouder to see such an excellent spar on our first day. Jin you were especially excellent, not that I could expect anything less from a member of the Uchiha clan." the teacher said, pride evident in his voice. The raven soaked it all in with a slight puff of his chest and walked back with an arrogant smirk.

"Sugoi Jin-kun that was so awesome…." many girls squealed in delight with stars in their eyes. He walked back into the crowd, walking past Naruto with a slight bump to his shoulder.

"Beat that dead last…" he taunted in a voice only meant for Naruto, which he promptly ignored and shrugged off his bump as if it was nothing.

"Ugh-" Naruto turned back on hearing the sound of a small thump and saw Jin lying sprawled face first on the ground. He merely tilted his head to the side in confusion as to why he would do that when he saw the boy get up, with his dirt covered front, glaring heatedly at Tsunade who was whistling innocently while playing with her toe drawing circles in the ground in all the innocence of the world.

"You might want to get up Uchiha or you might ruin the proud Uchiha clan's name…" she said in an all too innocent voice making the boy growl and clench his fists tightly. Everyone around them snickered, other than Naruto that is, who was still trying to figure out what was going on between the two.

"I won't forget this Senju…" Jin said angrily and got up, dusting himself off while Tsunade stuck her tongue out playfully to further annoy the already annoyed Uchiha. She felt a tug on her sleeve and looked to the side to see a quite confused Naruto looking at her questionably.

"What happened? Why is he so angry at you Tsunade?" Naruto asked in a lost voice making the girl smile cheekily. She patted his cheek playfully and shook her head while the raven haired boy walked off to the side and a ways away from them to maintain his distance.

"Nothing for you to worry about." she chirped happily, hiding the fact about sticking her foot out when that annoying Uchiha had bumped into her new friend to get back at him.

Tsunade took nothing from annoying Uchiha's without a payback people.

"So why was he being such a pest to you? You two know each other or something?" she asked curiously while the teacher was taking the Inuzuka boy to the infirmary to get him some check ups and rest for a little while. Naruto nodded his affirmative at knowing the boy.

"Jin and I have met in the past in our clan grounds. He hangs out with other kids from our clan…" he explained getting a scowl from Tsunade. She didn't want to tell him that he was the teme that was on the top of her bullies to beat list and merely nodded, motioning for him to go on.

"Well they don't like me hanging out with them, so I always keep my distance from him." he explained and got a nod from the girl who could see his point. She wouldn't want anything to do with that annoying brat as well.

"But he especially doesn't like me since I wear the Uchiha clan symbol on my clothes so early while he cannot, and is always trying to show me up in front of others…" he spoke as an afterthought getting a confused look from Tsunade. She looked on closely on his collars to see his clan's symbol and even the one on the back of his neck and then glanced at the brooding boy who had none whatsoever on his plain dark blue clothes.

"What's wearing a clan symbol got to do with you two?" she asked in a completely lost voice, making Naruto confused too. Then he remembered not many people outside of their clan knew of their traditions and nodded to himself further confusing the girl.

"Right you wouldn't know, but not anyone can wear our clan symbol just like that, it is a matter of pride for our clan to wear it on our clothes and represent our clan in front of others. Only those who have passed our Rite of Passage can wear it on themselves after getting the approval of any one clan elder." he explained calmly getting a nod from the girl, who had her finger over her chin while she absorbed the new information in. Then her eyes went to the clan symbols donned on his clothes…

"So you have passed this Rite of Passage and he hasn't?" she asked curiously and got a simple nod from the boy making her grin and catch him in a headlock.

"Cool." she chirped happily, ruffling his hair while he tried to shake the excited girl off. Then another thought ran through her mind making her let go off the boy who sighed in relief and straightened out his shirt slowly.

"What is this Rite of Passage thing anyways?" she asked him curiously, making him smile at the ever curious girl.

"It is a small ritual of sorts that all Uchiha have done since ancient times. The Uchiha clan doesn't deem their members worthy to wear the clan symbol until they master the **Fireball Jutsu** completely and show it to an elder of the clan who then gives them his approval to wear our symbol on our clothes. I completed it a month ago and showed it to Kagami Ojii-san who gave me his approval. Jin hasn't yet, so he doesn't like it very much that I can wear it while he cannot…." he trailed off seeing the glittering eyes of Tsunade looking at him proudly and stood there confused when she caught his shoulders in her hands tightly.

"You can shoot awesome cool fireballs from your mouth?" she asked in barely contained excitement making the boy quite confused at her sudden perking up, but he nodded dumbly. She was quite impulsive, he told himself and nodded inwardly in a sage like manner.

"You should so do it in your spar, I bet everyone will be amazed and the look on that baka's face…" Tsunade giggled mischievously making the boy quite confused yet a little worried seeing her strange laugh and rubbing of her palms together with a spaced out look on her face.

He put his palm on her forehead and the other one on his own making the girl snap out of her little day time fantasy to look at the worried eyes of her blue eyes friend.

"Your temperature seems fine…" Naruto mumbled to himself and nodded, making the girl become agitated at his innocent insinuation.

"Oi!" she said indignantly, but the boy didn't hear her and shook his head yet again in deep thought while he went over her idea.

"Anyways I can't do it in the spar…" he said making her pout cutely.

"And why not?" she asked in an irritated voice, making him sigh softly at his short tempered friend. It would be so awesome to see him burn up his opponent she mused, grinning mischievously. She could just imagine the teacher and that Jin baka's face when he did something so awesome. Once more she felt a hand on her forehead which then moved to her cheek while she looked at a worried Naruto having a palm on his own forehead to check her temperature.

"Hmm maybe we should take you to the infirmary…" he mumbled, quite worried seeing her strange expressions making her eye twitch. She bonked his head softly, which he rubbed with much added confusion.

"Why won't you do it?" she asked, trying to change the topic and save herself any further embarrassment from the innocently oblivious blonde friend of hers.

"Sensei said we can't use any ninjutsu remember?" he asked, making her pout yet again. She was about to open her mouth to say that rules can be bent every once in a while when he continued on.

"Plus, I can hurt my sparring partner by doing that. That won't be nice…" he whispered to himself, making her pout increase with a slight puff of her cheeks. She tried to come up with a retort and opened her mouth before closing it wordlessly and in the end just kept up her pout.

"Kill-joy." she mumbled, sulking at having her awesome plan failed before it could even begin and now Naruto felt bad at making her so sad. He didn't want his only friend to be sad all because of him and poked her arm cutely to get her attention.

"But I can show you after the Academy if you want to see it so much?" he asked to make her feel a little better and instantly all her sadness lay forgotten when she grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, we'll do that. So now let's beat up our opponents and then you can spout some cool fireballs for me all evening long." she cheered happily, raising her fist up in happiness. Naruto was confused and wondered what to do when he raised his own fist up to copy her and she blushed in embarrassment, pulling his hand down when all the eyes around them turned to their antics.

"What are you doing?" she whispered in a hushed embarrassed voice and he rubbed his neck sheepishly with a careless shrug, having no idea himself and got a soft sigh from her lips. But she couldn't help but smile at his helpless smile and perked up seeing her sensei come back from the infirmary and taking his place back in front of the ring, to make all the whispers around cease momentarily.

"Alright now moving on to the next spar. Will…" he trailed off to see who was matched next and everyone saw his narrowing of eyes before he looked back up to the all of them with a stoic blank face.

"Sakumo Hatake and Naruto Uchiha please step into the ring." he said in a tone of finality. Naruto grew a bit nervous, hearing all the whispers and seeing all the pointed fingers with the hushed whispers of 'it's that boy' being the most prominent in them all.

"Go on and show him who's boss." Tsunade chirped up, giving him a slight push on his back while he stumbled a bit but regained his balance to look at her cheery face and all his fears lay forgotten.

He hadn't really put anything into training his taijutsu up till now, only focusing on his ninjutsu to get his **Fireball Jutsu** mastered so he could wear the clothes that donned his clan's symbol proudly. The most experience he had in hand to hand combat was from what he had read in a scroll in his personal library and remembered the katas that were pictured in it. And reading didn't do much good in physical exercises, that much he knew himself.

He would have to do this one on instincts alone.

He stepped into the ring to see his silver haired opponent step in with a much too serious look on his face. For Sakumo, he had heard of the Uchiha clan's feared reputation in combat around the whole village by several adults, and from what he had seen in the previous spar he was expecting his opponent to be just as, if not, even more lethal. Though he saw the blonde boy in front of him take a deep breath to calm his nerves down and smiled seeing his nervousness.

"Let's have a good match." Sakumo spoke up, breaking the nervous silence between them by extending his hand for the blonde to shake as a show of some good sportsman-spirit before the match unlike the previous one. Naruto smiled, albeit a bit nervously and clasped the offered hand in a shake when they all heard a shout from the crowd.

"Go Naruto, kick his ass." Tsunade shouted happily from the sidelines while shaking her hand to cheer him on, gaining incredulous looks from her not so minced words as well as the fact that the Senju princess herself was rooting for the village pariah proudly in front of everyone. Naruto looked a little embarrassed at the amused smile marred on the face of his opponent.

"You have quite an interesting friend there." he said, not a all hiding the mirth laced in his voice and Naruto nodded sheepishly.

"Yeah, she's a bit impulsive…" he said, agreeing with him whole heartedly.

"Oi! I heard that." Tsunade shouted indignantly from the side lines, while Naruto rubbed his neck sheepishly at his frowning friend and nodded his head apologetically before she smiled and started rooting for him again.

"Alright now make the seal of confrontation…" the teacher finally interjected to break their antics. Both boys held the seal in front of their chest, before Sakumo dropped into his clan's classically balanced stance of being a bit offensive as well as defensive. Naruto tried to imitate the stance he had seen in his scroll much to the confusion of all the crowd surrounding him.

" _Alright, calm yourself down. Right palm open forward, straight in front of your chest to avoid any and all incoming blows from your opponent. Keep your left palm back, curled up halfway to either block the following attack and counter-attack with your right or simply counter with your left if not the case."_ he recited the first paragraph in the scroll and spread his legs a bit to further his balance as per the instructions and prayed to Kami this worked out for him a little.

* * *

 **Meanwhile in the balcony on the second floor's hallways in the Academy…**

* * *

Two figures stood there, their elbows resting on the railing while their seasoned and veteran eyes stared at the battlefield.

"So why are we here again?" the man standing to the right with a stoic yet slightly bored expression on his face asked.

"To watch the inaugural fights of the Academy year, what else." the man by his side answered his query equally stoically and almost instantly getting a grunt of exhasparation from his partner.

"Well we haven't done this anytime in the past…" he retorted dryly, quite annoyed at wasting his time here, seeing kids fight it out.

"There's a first time for everything then." the stoic man by his side retorted making the man by his side glance at him curiously.

"You're getting old Tobirama." the slightly bored man spoke making the current reigning Hokage without an ounce of fear in his eyes at who it was that he was talking to.

"I'm not old…" Tobirama retorted, almost offended at the prospect of having his age mentioned. He wasn't old, he was merely… well past his prime, yeah that was it. The man by his side, much to his annoyance merely chuckled a humorous laugh while shaking his head and lighting up a cigar with a small snap of his fingers to take a small puff of smoke.

"This is what old people like us do, pass their time while looking at those who would surpass us one day and take our reigns from us when our time finally comes. To nurture ones so young with all the care we can offer, that is our duty as adults of the village…" the man spoke, his voice suddenly serious and the wizened words laced with an air of experience.

"And you call me old…" Tobirama murmured in an annoyed voice, clearly not at all happy at being called old. It was the only thing that got on his nerves, and not many had the nerve to talk to him with a straight face much less how his partner was taking to him.

The man by the Hokage's side merely pulled back his breath to inhale the smoke and let out yet another silent puff before the cigar rested expertly in between his fingers.

Both adults watched the first true fight in the rings come to an end and Tobirama scoffed.

"Typical Inuzuka clan members, easily riled up and lose their heads before the fight even begins. Stupidity runs in their genetics." he said, not at all impressed by the fight while the man standing by his side nodded in agreement. He ran his hand through his shaggy brown hair, his coal black eyes narrowed at the boy exiting the ring on his own feet.

"Typical Uchiha, all arrogant on a style seemingly bastardized off of some other true taijutsu stance for their almighty Sharingan, only to make themselves seem original and deceptive. How far has the great clan fallen from it's true glory…" he commented dryly, getting a grunt of agreement from Tobirama.

The brown haired man chuckled seeing Tsunade trip the Uchiha when he bumped into the blonde boy by her side on purpose to get back on him.

"She's Hashirama's granddaughter alright, part Senju part Uzumaki…" he chuckled seeing her stick her tongue out at the seething Uchiha who went off while red faced in embarrassment and anger. Tobirama let out a tired sigh and palmed his face at her antics, he had to make her take a course to handle herself a bit better lest she get into trouble all the time. Though the shaggy white haired man did perk up at the mention of the second name in the announcement of the next fight.

The man by his side glanced to his side, watching the Hokage lean forward with eyes that had a hidden gleam of excitement making him smirk knowingly.

"So finally the fight you dragged me here for…" he commented pointedly, and Tobirama frowned at being read so easily. It was a wound to his pride as being hailed a man who was a master at hiding his emotions and completely unreadable to his opponents, that blonde boy was going to ruin his reputation soon enough like this.

His partner followed his fixated gaze to the blonde boy shaking hands with his opponent and his eyes narrowed on the small symbol embossed near the back nape of his neck making him raise an eyebrow and lean a bit forward himself.

"Well well well, already donning the Uchiha clan symbol on him eh? I can see why he intrigues you so much, this should prove to be not as boring as the other one…" he spoke, clearly a little interested himself, getting seemingly no reaction from the Hokage.

He glanced once more to his side, only to raise an eyebrow at seeing Tobirama's slightly wide eyes. He turned his eyes back to see what had gotten him so shocked only for him to copy his expression a moment later. His cigar dropped from his mouth in shock at seeing the boy entering a sloppy stance of the taijutsu style they hadn't seen in action for quite some time now.

"Isn't that the-" he murmured, still in shock and Tobirama nodded numbly. Too shocked himself to care about his lack of masking emotions.

"The Interceptor Fist. The original taijutsu style of the Uchiha clan…" he murmured, nostalgia kicking in both of their minds while their faces lit up with small proud smirks. Both their gazes rested on the crest embossed on his shirt now.

"He certainly does his heritage proud…" the brown haired man murmured, getting a curt nod from Tobirama. The proud smirk still not going off his face.

"That he does…" he agreed though his partner still couldn't get one thing.

"Where the hell did he come across that style? Wasn't Madara the last one to inherit it and it was seemingly lost with him?" he asked and once more got a nod from Tobirama. Though he did have a pretty good guess where the blonde might have come across such a powerful style.

"I have no idea…" he lied smoothly, getting narrowed glances from his partner who had caught onto his lie but said nothing in the end. Now quite a lot interested in the fight himself and let out a small puff of smoke.

* * *

 **Back in the sparring center…**

* * *

Sakumo rose an eyebrow seeing the peculiar and seemingly quite useless taijutsu stance the blonde had dropped in. It had so many holes in it that it wasn't even funny. It would most probably need godly instincts to block all the attacks that would enter his guard virtually in no time whatsoever.

Though he kept the comments to himself, it would be an insult to question a fighter about his abilities on the style he uses.

He dropped in his own stance, legs widely stretched with both arms in a forward guard to either defend or block at virtually the same time.

The teacher saw straight through the holes in that style though didn't comment on them, quite content to watch the _brat_ humiliate himself in front of everybody. He pulled his hand up as a gesture to get ready and both nodded at seemingly the same time when he brought it down, the whole clearing now in thick silence to await the pending fight.

"Hajime." he finally called out, and Sakumo took this as his cue to charge his opponent head first and take the first hit and flow of the spar right from the start. His feet jogged through the small distance between them quickly and he wanted to exploit that huge gap in his guard up front right from the beginning, and end it as quickly as he could.

He closed the distance between them quickly, slowing down when he was within arm's reach of the blonde who still stood as calm as a rock and let him come in for the strike.

Sakumo slid his right foot in to get into his guard, when Naruto mirrored his movement and slid his left foot back almost instantly negating Sakumo's attempt.

Though the silver haired boy was having none of it, as was shown when he slid his left foot in a small arc into his guard and once more Naruto slid his right foot back in the same arc to mirror his movement and render his charge virtually useless.

Sakumo finally had enough and brought his left fist near his waist and pulled it forward to Naruto's stomach which was blocked by Naruto's right palm easily. He cocked his right fist back to follow up and pulled his left back when Naruto blocked it with his left palm quite efficiently. He twisted his body in a 360 degree motion to bring his left elbow for Naruto's gut which was caught by both of Naruto's crossed palms to brace for the force behind his blow.

Sakumo brought his left knee up to his waist and pushed it towards the blonde's right bicep who curled up his arm to block it with his forearm and put his hand behind the limb to brace for the strength behind it.

Sakumo's eyes widened in horror when he saw the blonde boy smirk ever so slightly and realized how open his own guard was now, while he was trying to penetrate his opponent's seemingly impenetrable defense.

Naruto crouched down on his right knee, circling his body in a 270 degree arc to swipe off the boy's lone right leg from underneath him, as was the counter he had read about in the scroll he had found in his grandfather's personal library section.

Only hours of practice gave Sakumo the required time to hop a little and let the not so smooth swipe pass underneath him harmlessly while he stumbled back, a little off balance which wasn't lost to the blonde.

Naruto stood up straight and rushed ahead, cocking his left fist back and pushed it forward to the silver haired boy's face. Sakumo tilted his head to the side letting it slide past harmlessly and Naruto pulled it back following up with his right which was slapped back by Sakumo.

Sakumo saw him twist himself in a complete circle and through his previous spars at home, he knew what would follow next so he knew his chance was now. Naruto pushed his arm in a horizontal arc to aim for Sakumo's cheek but only met thin air and his eyes widened in shock.

" _Where is he-"_ his thought trailed off mid-way when a strong swipe from underneath him took his legs away and dropped him flat on his back. He coughed when his back and head hit the rough ground harshly, not used to the sudden blows in spars and felt his arm being caught in a hand when his eyes were closed momentarily.

Sakumo twisted his arm and threw him around, to make him fall down face first on the ground and painfully put it near his spine, getting a moan of pain from his opponent to make him stop lest he snap it. He flicked out a kunai from his holster and placed it on the blonde's neck to signify his defeat cleanly to the instructor who called the match.

"And that's the match, Shousha Sakumo Hatake!" the teacher clapped proudly and Sakumo let the blonde's arm go.

"Pathetic…" all the attention of the crowd turned to the snide voice from the side only to see to the source being Jin himself.

"Being sprawled face first in the dirt while your opponent sits on you. Even a complete loser like you shouldn't have lost so badly to someone from outside our clan. You really are a disgrace to the Uchiha clan, just like my father said you were…" he finished his comment making everyone around the boy laugh at the blonde's expense.

The words pierced through Naruto's chest like a hot knife and he sat up, his hair shadowing his eyes while he clenched the dirt in his fists tightly. Like always, he didn't reply back to the taunt or the laughs. Completely oblivious to the silver haired boy holding a seal of reconciliation for him to complete behind him.

"Hey kid, you alright? You're not hurt are you?" the teacher decided to add a little salt to his wound and his voice showed more of mirth than that of concern getting another round of laughs from everyone.

"Sensei, not even a loser like him can be hurt from getting beaten in a single counter…" Akio added smugly to add to his popularity by going with the flow of the crowd and everyone snickered at his comment yet again.

Naruto stood up and walked away, completely ignoring his opponent's confused yet worried gaze on his back. He dusted his shirt clean off the dirt and walked to the tap by the side for drinking water. He opened it up, drinking down a gulp from it before splashing some onto his face and ran his wet hand through his silky hair to make them glimmer brightly in the sun. He couldn't believe how badly he had bee beaten, but not again. This was the last time, he promised himself silently

"Hey…" a soft girly voice called out from behind him. He turned around to see Tsunade standing there with her hands behind her back and a warm smile on her face. His hand pulled out his handkerchief and wiped off his face, staying silent to let her have her fun of taunting and making fun of him just like everyone else had done.

"Don't worry about them, you were awesome out there. And you'll definitely win next time, I know it. After all we are here in the Academy for quite some time ne?" she asked in her playful voice, making him look up surprised. She was still rooting for him?

"Aren't you here to make fun of me like the others?" he asked her in a lost voice, only to have her frown at his words. She stomped her way towards him angrily, making him take a couple of steps back from the obviously angry girl who put her index finger on his nose to make him turn a lot more nervous than before.

"I'll let you know, I was cheering for you from start till end baka…" she scolded him, he merely averted his eyes to the side in shame at letting her down.

"And never once did I laugh with them…" she continued on with another poke to his nose to emphasize her point and he looked at her with wide eyes to see the plain conviction in her eyes and behind those words.

In a moment she retracted her hand back and let out her usual cheeky grin.

"And don't be all mopey-broody, just 'cause you lost 'kay?" she asked him, and got a tilt of the head from him in honest confusion. She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes making him shrink under her gaze. His mother used to do that, and it was still quite effective in his mini-me of her right now.

"We are here for another six or seven years, so what if you didn't do good and lost? You have plenty more chances to show all of them up." she said firmly with a sage like nod, finally making him smile and nod.

"Umm…ano?" they heard a third voice and Naruto looked on in confusion as his opponent from before came from behind them. He put his hand forward with two outstretched fingers for him to take.

"You didn't make the seal of reconciliation earlier as are the rules, and I don't want to ruin a tradition coming from generations on our first day here at the Academy." he spoke with a smile.

Naruto looked down on the outstretched hand and yet another smile broke on to his face while he nodded in return and stretched out his own hand with two fingers clasping his fingers in a perfect seal.

"It was a good match, you had me worried there for a few moments." Sakumo spoke in an honest tone, shocking him to his core at the admiration his voice held for him. For Sakumo, he knew the boy was strong and would get even stronger in time, it was his gut feeling.

"I'm not sure if we are properly introduced, I'm Sakumo, Sakumo Hatake from the Hatake clan. It's nice to meet you." he said in a happy tone and extended his hand, this time for a shake and the start of a new bond of friendship between the two.

Naruto once more looked down surprised at the offer of friendship and saw the genuine look in his eyes while his hand clasped the other one almost on it's own.

"I'm Naruto, Naruto Uchiha from the Uchiha clan. It's nice to meet you too." Naruto spoke in his ever soft voice getting a nod and a smile from his new silver haired friend.

Both stumbled when a white and blonde blur barreled into them from their side, clasping their necks with her arms.

"I wanna be friends too!" chirped Tsunade with a cheeky smile and all of them laughed at her antics while she put out her tongue childishly. Sakumo looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"You have quite an interesting friend indeed." he drawled out in an amused voice and Naruto sighed softly, nodding sagely at his words.

"I told you, she's a bit impulsive…" he answered tiredly, and Tsunade puffed out her cheeks and raised both her arms over their heads.

 _BONK…BONK…_

"Kuso, it hurts…" both Naruto and Sakumo rubbed the small lumps on their heads comically in unison with a small tear drop in their eyes. Tsunade huffed and turned around, crossing her arms with a small scowl on her face.

"You two deserved it…" she mumbled firmly making the two smile at their impulsive female friend.

"Tsunade Senju and Misa Yamanaka, please step into the rings…" they heard their teacher's voice and Tsunade's ears perked up. She grinned at having had her chance finally come up, and pulled the two boys behind her, almost dragging them like rag dolls behind her.

"Alright my chance! Finally at last…" she chirped up, forgetting her previous anger instantly. The two boys glanced at each other and sighed in unison while they were dragged back towards the crowd quite forcefully.

 _They had an impulsive friend alright…_

Both drawled out inwardly, and smiled as they wished her luck in her fight.

 **Meanwhile in the balcony on the second floor's hallways in the Academy…**

"A shame really…" the brown haired man commented, puffing out a small cloud of smoke from his lips to draw his companions ears to him.

"Hmm?" Tobirama hummed in confusion at his words.

"The blonde Uchiha I mean, he seemingly had no experience in hand to hand combat before this spar. But the stance was quite clear in his mind, most probably from learning the theory behind it. He missed many chances to counter but his defense was still strong, a little more experience and he will be acing through the physical workouts in no time. The style was built for his body, fast and agile, requiring flexibility in maneuvers and the keenest of instincts. The boy was born with them in his palms, he will master that, if he has the drive to do so that is…" he explained making Tobirama contemplate his companion's words.

"He will, he has the drive…" he finally spoke, getting yet another raised eyebrow from the smoking man by his side.

"Oh, you know him quite well I presume. He intrigues you doesn't he?" he stated more than asked and Tobirama merely stayed silent, his silence answering the man's question completely.

The smoking man though smiled, seeing the three who were by the side near the tap and seemingly nurturing a new start to some precious bonds. This was the thing they lived and fought for each day, to secure a peaceful childhood for them before they were thrust into taking up the mantle from them and trained to be shinobi.

"He intrigues me too, the both of them do…" he finally drawled out to break the silence that had sprawled between them when they saw Tsunade pulling them back for her turn to the ring like sacks of potatoes.

This time, it was Tobirama's turn to raise an eyebrow. Though he smirked a moment later but said nothing turning his eyes to see Tsunade's match. If it could be called so much.

As soon as the match had started, Tsunade had charged and buried her fist in the other girl's stomach with all her strength. Who, in turn, had fallen unconscious.

Everyone watching the match sweat dropped when Tsunade poked the girl with the tip of her foot's sandals.

"Oi! I didn't hit that hard, get up I wanna fight." she poked her head again but the girl was out cold. Tobirama and the instructor palmed their faces in unison at the girl's antics, though the former was still proud of his granddaughter to finish her spar off so early.

"Sensei I'll make the seal of reconciliation later, she isn't making one right now…" Tsunade spoke, poking her opponent yet again as if she were a log, getting a tired nod from the teacher who picked the girl up and walked her to the infirmary with a tired sigh. He had a girl high on sugar in his class it seemed to him.

She walked to her two new friends with a wide and proud grin which was seemingly returned by Sakumo whole heartedly.

"You did great." he spoke, making her grin widen and turn to her first friend to see what he thought of it.

"Congratulations." Naruto spoke in his ever soft and polite tone. She smiled, hearing the honesty in his calm and soft voice. He was certainly different than all her other friends, in a weirdly nice sort of way to her and she nodded. They watched the rest of the matches till late in the afternoon, before the day was called off much to the relief of some of the exhausted students.

Naruto packed up his bag slowly to make sure he didn't forget anything, unlike his female partner by his side who was logging in everything hurriedly like a man on a mission. He saw her struggling with the zip, since the clogged up things in it were now making it quite bigger than it should have been seeing it from the morning.

"Damn it, close up!" Tsunade scolded the bag, much to the confusion of Naruto who sighed softly and decided to stop her before she ripped it apart.

"Ano…you need help?" he asked her and got a slight glare from the fired up girl which turned into a tired sigh and a nod. He smiled, taking the bag and rolling up the scrolls and closing the books and things in it properly before placing them in an organized manner. Finally, he zipped it up and handed it to the girl who took it with an embarrassed smile.

"Gomen, I get a little angry sometimes…" she mumbled in a hushed whisper, which he dismissed and slung his own bag over his shoulder by his waist. They walked out of the Academy together, with Sakumo having left a little early since he had some work and both walked towards the clan districts together.

"Oi! You still have to show me that **Fireball Jutsu** of yours." she spoke up in their walk pointedly, making him nod in remembrance of his promise.

"Alright, I'll show it to you where I learnt it then 'kay?" he asked and got a happy nod from the girl. He took her to near the edge of his own clan compounds when Tsunade saw him walk down the stairs of the bank and onto the porch of the river.

 **Naka River**

Both young kids stood on the wooden porch of the river, watching the sun now halfway down signaling they still had a couple of hours before it finally settled down completely. He took his bag off and kept it by his side, taking a deep breath before he got started on it.

Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger

" **Fire Style : Fireball Jutsu!"** he exclaimed while his hands blurred through hand seals that were quite fast for Tsunade to follow. Even though they weren't that fast, to her they were awesome. He took in a deep breath, lining his lungs and wind pipe with a protective chakra layer that was the first and most basic requirement of any Fire jutsu to be performed without burning one up himself from the inside. It was the most volatile of the elemental natures for a reason.

He blew out the hot breath churned up in his body and put his fingers near his lips in a small C-like shape for the fireball to be directed and controlled. The air coming from his mouth ignited due to the immediate change in temperatures as soon as it left his lips and a small shallow stream of flames going forward. Tsunade frowned and wanted to scold him for showing her a small stream of flames instead of an actual…

She covered her eyes when the narrow stream suddenly expanded into a huge red fireball. The water in the river let out a huge hiss of steam, boiling under the extreme pressure of heat it's usually cold water wasn't used to.

"Sugoi! Once more Naruto, I didn't get a good look at it please…" she pleaded with her hands clapped in the manner she was saying a prayer and he panted, wiping the sweat of his brow and nodded a little tiredly, he couldn't refuse his friend after all. He smiled, turning back to the river and took a deep breath.

Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger

" **Fire Style : Fireball Jutsu!"** he exclaimed once more, and spouted out a narrow stream of flames that expanded into a full blown crimson fireball once more. This time Tsunade watched on with starry eyes at the awesome jutsu he was wielding for her show-tell right now.

He panted a little and wiped his forehead, a small smile of pride on his lips for having mastered this jutsu for now. Though he did raise an eyebrow when he saw the wide puppy dog eyes of Tsunade staring at him pleadingly.

"Teach me." she said instantly clasping his hands in her own making him quite surprised at her request. He smiled a little and shook his head in negative making her frown.

"It's not easy Tsunade…" he said and her frown turned into a full blown scowl and he placed his finger on her lips when she began to say something to shush her up before hand.

"It isn't that I don't trust you, it's that we don't know your elemental affinity for now. Kagami Ojii-san told me that we can use our own element's jutsu rather easily than those that are polar opposites of them. If they aren't of your affinity, you have to first master the pure manipulation of that element before you move on to the actual jutsu part. You actually have to do that with your own affinity too, but we can use our jutsu, albeit a bit weaker than they could be without learning pure manipulation first." he explained her and she nodded with a calm look on her face now that she knew his reasons.

"So your affinity thingy is Fire?" she asked and he shook his head.

"Dunno, haven't checked it yet. Actually Ojii-san said we don't start on pure elemental manipulation until we are at least chunin." he said making her frown in confusion and he knew the reason, so he sat down with her doing the same and both looked down in the river's clean water flowing past their naked feet.

"I'm from the Uchiha clan, so I have a natural affinity to fire like all Uchiha's no matter my natural element. Every one of us has at least some sort of affiliation with the fire element and all of us do master this jutsu." he explained her unasked question making her nod sadly.

"Your clan is so cool, all that they teach me is some stupid chakra control exercises. All I can do is stick leaves on my forehead…" she mumbled, waving her feet in the water with a saddened look. He felt really bad at her saddened demeanor, it didn't look nice on her chirpy face at all.

"Chakra control is pretty important too. The better the control, the less chakra we use in our jutsu Tsunade. For example, I can only do at most five fireballs a day when I'm completely fresh for now, with more control I can increase it to maybe even double that…" he explained making her nod, it was the same thing her granduncle said too.

"You know everything, how are you so smart?" she asked him with a voice laced with admiration. He got a little embarrassed from her words and waved his hand dismissively.

"I don't know everything, I just know a little about this because Ojii-san explained it to me when he showed me this jutsu and I read some scrolls at my house." he spoke modestly making her put out her bottom lip cutely.

"Don't be like that, you're awesome. I wish I could do that…" she said honestly, once more waving her legs to take her mind off it. Naruto fell in thought at how to cheer her up before he perked up.

"I know how about I teach you a small Fire jutsu used to light up small flames for camping and stuff, it's how I started. And even if you don't get the jutsu, you can use this in the future for outside camping and stuff…" he suggested making her grin and nod happily. He got up and showed her the little technique that was virtually simple and not at all dangerous for anybody, seeing how small in scale it was all one could get was a harsh throat for couple of days if done wrong unlike the higher ranked Fire jutsus and it was taught to everyone from what he knew, so he saw no harm in it.

"Alright it only has two seals, one being Horse, but the main one being Tiger. That is the one that triggers all Fire jutsus and is the last seal of them all." he explained getting a nod from the girl. Both tried to light up some dry leaves and sticks for an hour before they saw it was a little late and Tsunade picked her bag up.

"I have to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow 'kay?" she asked and he nodded with a smile. He was now looking forward to his days in the Academy and walked her to the village's shopping center until they parted ways before remembering about the other thing he had to do now before he went home.

"Kami, I forgot all about meeting Mito Baa-chan!" he exclaimed to himself and ran to the eastern part of the clan districts hurriedly. He looked around the place she had told him to look into and that he would find it easily. His eyes caught sight of a large house in the corner with a small spiral symbol on it's entrance, the same one that was on her kimono's obi yesterday and knew that was the place.

 **Uzumaki clan compounds…**

Naruto knocked on the door and stood there calmly for a couple of minutes, trying to regain his breath while he was at it. Mito opened the door, having an idea as to who it might be and much to her happiness it was her adorable blonde she was thinking of so much today. But she did frown with her hands on her hips.

"You're late Naruto-kun." she admonished him half heartedly, and he rubbed his neck and nodded apologetically.

"Gomen, I went with my friend and lost track of time." he spoke in a sorry tone making her smile that he had made a friend on his first day. Kami knew he deserved it more than anyone, and she welcomed him in, respecting the boy's true and honest answer along with his straight forward attitude.

Naruto walked in the house's hallways, that had a lot more homey and warm feel to them than he had ever felt before. They were quite vibrant with many colors and paintings or some strange calligraphy, most probably seals, if he could guess right, all around the place. She took him to the calligraphy room she used for her own sealing practice and sat him on the couch.

"Alright you sit here and I'll go and bring something to drink for you alright?" she asked him, getting a small happy nod from the blonde who watched her leave and let out a little tired yawn, rubbing his sleepy eyes off their sleep, he was exhausted after that little expedition with Tsunade and the toll the day had taken on him.

Mito came back with a tray of some cake and milk, only to smile silently at the adorable sight in front of her eyes. Naruto had fallen asleep on the table with his head resting on his crossed arms, no doubt exhausted from his day. She put the tray aside and sat by his side, brushing his hair gently to find him breathing softly, no doubt in a deep sleep at the moment. He looked so cute in her eyes right now.

He must have been quite tired from whatever he had done on his first day, yet he had come to her for practice just because he had promised her to and that in alone made her so happy. She placed a kiss on his head and scooped the boy up in her arms, to take him up into her guest room and place him in a proper bed for a nice sleep before she went to his house to get him some clothes and maybe his little furry companion too while she was at it.

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : There is the next chapter. I hope this chapter was better than the last attempt at my story since this is where all the past story's content ends. Next time is where it picks up the pace, with Naruto going though the Academy and finally awakening his Sharingan. I tried to write the fight as nice as I could have, so if it had some flaws please do let me know so by your comments in reviews so I can improve them in the future chapters. Some have asked why I write an innocent and nice Naruto instead of a completely blank, emotionless and dark Naruto, well it's because I like it that way. It gives him a lot more depth than someone like Danzo or some other stoic blank characters like Madara himself. Not like he would be stupid here in anyways as you have seen above but neither will he be godly powerful in a snap, so keep hoping for op powers until a long time past alright? Well please do leave reviews since if you don't I am thinking that this story isn't what I really hope the potential it holds in my personal opinion. So until next time, keep reading and reviewing Ja Ne ;)**_

 _ **PS : Oh and before I forget, that brown haired man in the conversation with Tobirama is an interesting and important character of the story. So let's see who guesses him first. I'll leave a hint too as to how important he is, he'll be Naruto's official sensei for crying out loud. So do say who you think or want it to be and let's see who it might be. (It isn't my personal OC, it is a character mentioned by Kishimoto himself but seemingly forgotten by fanfiction authors. Though he doesn't have much explanation rather a small reference so I'll build him from the ground up too while I'm at it.) ;)**_


	4. Sharingan Revived

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **(Timeskip 2 years)**

* * *

 **Konoha Ninja Academy**

* * *

"Alright kids, this is the final day for the second semester. The testing done today with all of you will go on your report cards, so please take this seriously…" the teacher spoke, his voice and eyes pointedly glaring at a certain blonde haired kunoichi of his who merely stuck her tongue out at the man for pointing at him specifically.

let out a tired sigh and picked the stack of papers on his desk, starting to distribute them all around the class.

Naruto took the paper from the instructor, putting it down on his desk with the blank side facing him as was instructed to them and waited patiently on his desk, his fingers crossed in front of his mouth with an almost peaceful aura surrounding him.

The instructor stood in front of the class, glancing at the clock to see it was almost time and spoke up as soon as the second hand of the clock hit 12.

"You may begin." his voice rang through the silence of the room. Naruto flipped the test around, his eyes working their way through the questions furiously to see if there was anything that would trouble him. And much to his relief there wasn't anything of that caliber, instead it seemed a little easy to him.

His baby blue eyes glanced to the side, to see Sakumo raring past the test like an enraged bull and he snickered softly at the boy who seemed like he would burn straight through the paper in a few moments. Then he glanced up front into the second row from the front where his blonde friend sat and he let out a soft sigh from his lips.

" _I'm doomed, Kaa-san is going to kill me for this_ _!_ _"_ Tsunade cried in her head, fantasizing what kind of punishments would be levied out on her for failing this stupid test. She hated history with a passion, what were they going to do with knowing who became the Shodaime Tsuchikage after all? That guy was most probably dead for crying out loud.

Now anatomy and biology were cool, she always aced those tests. It just intrigued her so much and she would be able to know more about the workings about the human body with that. Not learn about some stupid guy who has been dead for decades and haunting her right life right now.

She pulled out her hair in frustration, how could she have fallen asleep when she had finally decided to get to studying for this last night? Oh that's right, it was so boring that she had fallen asleep quicker than listening to a lullaby. And she didn't even want to know what her granduncle was going to say when he heard of this, which he most probably would.

" _I shouldn't be doing this…"_ Naruto sighed softly but in the end the temptation to do something for her was too much. Plus, shinobi didn't play fair, that at least put some of his guilt at rest for doing this.

He flicked out a kunai when the instructor was listening to a student's doubts regarding a question, for which he was quite glad right now. He saw the small amount of blank space at the bottom end of the paper and smiled a small smile, brushing his hand through his silky hair coming onto his eyes to seem totally normal to everyone around him.

He channeled some chakra into it while it was right above his lap, the kunai hummed a little making him quite nervous and glance up to see no one had noticed and quickly cut a straight line on the bottom end of the paper. The kunai cut cleanly through it as if a machined cut, leaving no evidences that he had tampered with it and pocketed his kunai again, picking his pencil up to start working on 'two' of his tests.

He ticked all the multiple choice questions one by one with relative ease, whizzing past them and writing down the answers at the bottom of the cleanly cut paper to some of the rest of them. The teacher walked up, looking about the class and stopped by Naruto's side.

His eyes narrowed in on the boy's paper, quite specifically, the bottom half of it. Naruto was barely containing his nervousness and kept going through ticking the questions so as to not rouse any attention from the examiner for their test right now.

"Hey kid…" he called, placing a hand over his shoulder making him stiffen and give the man a nervous smile.

"Hai sensei?" he asked, afraid that the teacher might have caught onto him when the teacher pointed to the small scribbles jotted down on the bottom half of his sheet.

"This is an official Academy test to be graded by the educational authorities, rub off your little notes before you hand the test in or you might get some marks deducted for that." he pointed out and went down the stairs to keep his gaze on all the students. Naruto let out a sigh in relief and continued working on both his tests quickly and efficiently.

The cut was made so clean that the teacher hadn't noticed it and he was glad for that right now. His training was paying off in spades right now.

He put his pencil down as soon as the last question on it was answered and looked up to see Tsunade with with her hands over her head while her chin rested on her desk, no doubt still lost as to what she would do now. He slid the small slip from the bottom of the test out and put it over his lap, held between his index and middle fingers.

His eyes glanced to the instructor to wait for him to get into the perfect position for him to do this. His eyes narrowed calculatingly when the man reached the far end of the other corner and his back turned to him.

" _Perfect, he's in a blind spot. There's no way he'll see this…"_ he thought, a smirk now adorning his lips as the slip in between his fingers hummed and straightened like a slim sheet of metal when chakra coursed through it and he flicked it expertly towards his target with a flick of his wrist.

 _CLACK…_

Tsunade looked up startled when a slip of paper embedded into her desk like a shuriken with it's corner engulfed deep in the wood. A moment later it lost it's sharp edges and fell down like a simple slip of paper that she quickly slid down onto her lap before someone saw it. She looked to her side to see her partner too nervous to notice and turned her honey eyes down to her lap.

* * *

 _Question one - Land of Gold._

 _Question five - Samurais are only found in the Land of Iron._

 _Question seven - Fire Daimyo is protected by twelve of his hand picked shinobi called the Twelve Guardian Ninja._

 _Question ten - The Water Country has an additional branch in their black ops instated by the Shodai Mizukage to hunt down renegade shinobi of their village called the Hunter Ninjas of the Kiri's ANBU Black Ops._

 _Note : Start studying history, it isn't that boring and I won't always be there to save you…_

 _\- Naru_

* * *

Tsunade crushed the small slip of paper in her palms, pocketing it quickly. She bit her lip and turned her eyes to the back only to see Naruto gazing out the window and seemingly done with the test, no doubt at some bird's nest he had found interesting. She saw his lone eye glance at her for only a moment, his lips adorning a small smirk before he turned his eyes back outside while his chin rested lazily on his palm.

She looked down onto her paper and let out a soft smile, he was always looking out for her no matter what just like he always did. Whether she asked her or not she knew he was watching her, like he always said "I've got eyes on you Tsuna" in his soft yet playful voice to her whenever she was hard pressed in some tough situation. And he would give her that Kami annoying poke to her forehead as if she was a spoilt child in his eyes when he would pull through a trick of some kind, which she most probably was in his eyes.

She quickly jotted down the answers he had sent for her seeing how little time she had left. As soon as she had finished the last answer a voice was heard throughout the Academy.

 _RRRRIIIINNNNGGGG…._

The bell rang, marking the end of the test and the instructor stood fast in front of the desk looking at all his students firmly.

"Alright time's up, pencil's down…" he called out, getting all students to obey.

"Now come up one by one and put your tests here on my desk face down and you can go for the accuracy and weapons tests outside." he called out an everyone did so.

Naruto got up, putting his test down on the instructor's desk and walked out, putting his hands in his pockets to look for Sakumo and…

A blonde and white blur whizzed past the students coming out of the class and straight onto the oblivious blue eyes boy's back.

"You're a lifesaver Naru _Mwah…"_ Tsunade chirped up, jumping onto his back with a giggle while her arms were around his neck for support and her knees curled up back and she placed a tight kiss on his cheek.

"Oi! Where's my kiss?" a third voice drawled out from behind them only to see a silver haired boy grinning stupidly at the two. Tsunade stuck her tongue out childishly.

"It's in hell, you'll get it after you die Saku no baka!" Tsunade retorted instantly getting a chuckle out of both the boy's while she hopped down her feet to feel a couple of fingers poke her forehead.

"Start studying history idiot, I won't always be able to bail you out…" Naruto spoke in a half scolding manner before walking out for the training grounds. Tsunade puffed her cheeks and jumped by his side to walk with him.

"Well you could have helped me get more than the passing marks…" Tsunade retorted dryly, rubbing her forehead with her palm.

"There was only enough time for you to jot down what I sent Tsuna…" Naruto replied back with another poke, making her bristle in anger yet she couldn't deny his words. The bell had rung as soon as she had finished writing the answers he had sent for her. It annoyed her to no end that he always seemed to know everything and he was always right no matter what he said when it came to the stuff concerning anything related to shinobi.

"Now stop being such a wise guy and Kami forbid stop poking me!" she shouted rubbing her forehead, her face flushed with anger while he just walked on, completely unfazed by her angry words and quite used to her antics by now.

Sakumo though…

"Guys am I missing something?" he asked in a lost voice, not getting what was going on and fell in step with the two bickering blonde friends of his.

'Nothing for you to worry about…" Naruto answered simply, putting his right fist out only for Sakumo to side bump it with his own left fist.

"Yeah! Now let's ace those damn shuriken and kunai tests…" pumped up Tsunade, happy that it wasn't anything related to history now.

"Weapons and Accuracy tests…" Sakumo corrected wisely making Tsunade frown.

"Smart ass…" she mumbled with a cute pout, making Naruto chuckle and Sakumo to grumble about the stupid nickname she had stuck him with.

The trio stepped out with the rest of their batch mates to see a table lined up with kunais and shurikens as well as several bull's eyes on the opposite wall.

"Alright class, this is the last grading test for this semester. All of you have to throw six kunais and six shurikens to score as many points as you can. Now I'll call two of you in pairs so we can get this over quickly. Now…" the teacher called them out by turns. Tsunade got eleven points out of a possible twelve with Sakumo a close ten behind her by a single point. Everyone got off their turns until it came to the last two with matching surnames on the list.

"Naruto Uchiha and Jin Uchiha…" the teacher called out while the two boy's stepped forward. Jin glared at Naruto with all the hate he could muster. He resented him with his very being ever since the second half of their first year when Naruto and Sakumo had finally started to catch up to his high scores before surpassing him and leaving him in the dust with the blonde at the top and his friend a close second in just about everything they did while Tsunade was the kunoichi to beat in their batch with her topping just about everything….everything except history that is.

Jin picked up his weapons and threw them all by the turns, each hitting a perfect dart in the center making him smirk at seeing the perfect score of twelve. There was no way he could be beaten…

"And Naruto Uchiha scores a perfect twelve with a single point for the extra credit demonstration while throwing all his weapons at once…" the teacher's voice caled out, lacking any hint of pride or warmth and a small scowl on his face at seeing the target's center ladden with kunais with the shurikens forming a small '+' around them.

Everyone let out 'oohs' and 'ah' of shock at seeing his target while the boy calmly stepped by his friends to find Sakumo with a competitive glint in his eyes and trying to burn holes in his target while Tsunade was puffing out her cheeks.

"Show off." she mumbled and Naruto sighed. She was going to burst her cheeks one day if she kept this up and the instructor stood in front of them after rounding up the last of their scores.

"Alright congratulations you all, this marks the end of your second year. Now you all have a month long vacation before we move on to the new year. So go on and enjoy your time with your family." he called out and stepped into the building leaving happily chattering students behind. The trio retrieved their bags from their lockers and slung them on while walking out of the Academy.

"So what are you guys going to do in the vacation? Tou-san is going to finally start training me in kenjutsu this fall…" Sakumo said, working out the kinks in his back with a stretch while they waled through the streets of the village.

"I'm going to study some more anatomy and biology in my free time and gamble some of my money at that Han and Sho game I found last week at a stall in the shopping districts, you know there's a fifty percent chance at my winning which is higher than any other so finally my luck will shine!" Tsunade chirped up, pumped at her idea and Sakumo dropped his head in defeat while Naruto let out a soft sigh of defeat too.

"What about you Naruto?" Sakumo asked to gauge what his friend was going to do in his vacation and Naruto shrugged carelessly making the two of his companions sweat drop.

"Dunno train in what I find interesting and study some scrolls?" he asked more than stated making Sakumo nod. That was just how his friend was, he knew that much.

"Guys I'll go and see you two tomorrow at our usual place…" Sakumo said hurriedly making Naruto raise an eyebrow at his agitated friend.

"What gotten into you?" he asked with Tsunade nodding in agreement to get a cheeky smile from their friend.

"I'm going to go get myself a nice training katana today for my vacation long training." Sakumo said making Tsunade and Naruto look at him in jealousy while he smiled in victory.

"Lucky…" the two mumbled with a slump in their shoulders. Sakumo laughed and ran off towards his house while waving his hand back at them.

"Alright I'll see you tomorrow, Ja Ne!" he called out and both waved at him. Naruto walked towards the clan districts with Tsunade in tow and rose an eyebrow when she didn't take the turn for her house.

"I'm coming with you, don't wanna go home right now." she said simply making him nod. It wasn't unusual for her to spend her day at his house, no she loved lazing around there and had almost made it her haven away from home.

* * *

 **Uchiha clan compounds…**

* * *

The duo of friends walked within the fortified clan compounds of the Uchiha, getting several curious glances towards the girl by our hero's side but none were too surprised after seeing it several times already.

Though none did understand why or how Tobirama had allowed his granddaughter to be so close to the Uchiha family's heir he had resented the most in his past, but none were brave enough to question his decisions.

Naruto opened the large gate to his estate and walked in with Tsunade in tow, her hands clasped behind her back with a little smile. He slid the key in his door and turned opened it to step inside his house.

Tsunade slid off her sandals and threw them everywhere before hopping in the house leaving a sighing Naruto behind. He slid off his own footwear and put them neatly, doing the same for his impulsive friend when a small sound rang in the silent hallway.

"Mewww…." a soft mewl reached the ears of both blondes making Tsunade perk up. She saw the glowing slitted eyes and grinned seeing the adorable white cub with her tail wagging happily at seeing her master return home.

"Kiara!" Tsunade chirped in a chipper tone and ran up to coddle the adorable thing in her arms. Kiara ran towards Tsunade herself making her grin and open her arms when she jumped up in pure bliss…

When the white blur went past her side and she landed straight on her face onto the floor. Her body twitched comically, while the cub in question rested in Naruto's arms comfortably with a purr. He brushed her fur and rubbed her head with a finger, kissing her head gently.

"You hungry girl?" he asked the cub who mewled in affirmative making him chuckle and move inside the kitchen while Tsunade sat on the ground with a twitching eyebrow and a tick mark donned on her forehead.

"That traitorous, no good, ball of fur…" she mumbled furiously, watching her friend walk inside and went in only to plop down on the couch tiredly with a sigh of relief. Though she did glare at the cub who hopped onto her couch and was standing in front of her face with a curious glint in her eyes.

"What do you want traitor?" she mumbled in irritation, getting a tilt of the head from the cub in question and her heart melted when she licked her cheek.

"Aww come to mama…" she cooed and scooped her up in her arms, hugging her for dear life which the cub loved if her purrs were any indication.

"Kiara come and have some lunch…" Naruto's voice rang in the kitchen and she slicked her way out of Tsunade's arms expertly who tried to keep her in her arms, but ended up falling off the couch face first...again.

She grumbled incoherent curses at the feline, rubbing her aching nose with an annoyed expression on her face seeing her lap up whatever he gave her to eat quite happily from her bowl.

Half an hour later, Tsunade was lying there lazily hearing the crickets in his large gardens and Naruto sat on the porch with the cub lying on her back and her legs high up in the air.

"Where does it all go you glutton? You don't even grow up neither are you fat or chubby, you're still so small…" Naruto asked the cub while tickling her stomach to get muffled mewls from her. Her paws tried to pry him off but to no avail and Tsunade smiled. Kiara had become a part of their group too over time.

"Oi! Where are you guys?" a familiar voice called out surprising them quite a lot.

"We're in here, come on up back…" Tsunade called out and sure enough both saw Sakumo come around with his hands behind his back and a wide grin on his face. Tsunade laid on her elbow, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I thought you were going to buy your sword smart ass…" she pointed out wisely, getting an eye twitch from the boy at her name calling but he gulped it down for now and grinned. His hands were put out in front to show them a beautifully crafted katana unsheathed with a completely white blade and a black sheathe to go along with it in his other hand.

"Tou-san gave me the family sword when I got home, I ran straight from home knowing you two would be here. Isn't it cool?" he asked with a cheeky smile, getting nods from the other two who were looking marvelously at the beautifully crafted sword.

"It's called the White Light Chakra Sabre by the way, it's been passed down withing my family for generations now." he explained to add a bit more fascination to it and got dumb nods from his star struck friends while Tsunade ran her finger on the blade in amazement.

"Sugoi, you got such a cool sword…" Tsunade whispered making him puff his chest out proudly. "…idiots have all the luck in the world." she continued making him deflate and cry anime tears at her words. Naruto laughed and all three enjoyed their free day happily to enjoy their friend's happiness together, playing around the house some card games, Tsunade's choice by the way, of which she won none of them as always.

* * *

 **A week later, some unknown clearings on the borders of the village…**

* * *

Naruto walked past the trees covering the forest like clearing, while taking in the beautiful sights to his heart's content. This part of the forest, he had never been in before and he was sure no one else had either, seeing the non trampled grass growing all around the area.

He looked up and smiled at seeing the sun rays coming past the leaves of the trees and illuminating the beautiful clearing with it's sheen.

His feet took small and careful steps, to avoid any dangerous insects or snakes going around on the ground. He loved doing this, to see the places in the village no one else ever ventured into. It was a loss in his mind of their own accord to not explore the place they lived and breathed in down to it's very core.

Finally, he walked into a small clearing in between the thick forestry of the seemingly lost to time area of the village. He looked on amazed at the large and thick tree in the middle of said clearing as if it were the whole nerve center of the village.

He walked closer to the tree, which was of the size of a small house in itself and touched it's large bark with his small hand. He could feel the synergy of life it breathed and the small pulses the tree was letting out each passing second as if it were alive and breathing.

He walked around it, looking up and down the tree and wondering whether to climb said tree or not when he stopped abruptly as his eyes caught on to something strange.

His baby blue eyes narrowed on a particular part of the tree covered with wild vines and he flicked out a kunai from his holster, carving the weeds out and brushing it clean with his palm to read a small thing inscribed onto it by human hands.

 _Konohagakure no sato_

It read and he started hacking away the vines cleanly by channeling wind chakra through it and finally cleared away the small portion of the bark he wanted to see so much right now.

* * *

 _Today we stand here, asking ourselves the same question every shinobi has probably asked himself at one point in his life._

 _What is a shinobi? Why do we kill others as a way of living, mindlessly staining the ground scarlet?_

 _My friend asked me this today too, after our small truce of peace marking the stop of centuries of conflict between our clans. So I answered him today, and we decided to carve this out for life here as a sign for the future generations to remember the horrors we went through and the time when we stopped to think of the past that lay behind us._

 _A shinobi is one who endures no matter the obstacles, that is what we could say in a sentence._

 _Why do we kill then? Why destroy life?_

 _To protect life, life must be taken. That is the very law of nature. The cycle goes on and on, but what differentiates us from animals is that we have the sense, the sense to feel others pain and bask in it to share his sufferings._

 _That is what me and my friend dreamed of years ago, a place where everyone will understand each others sufferings and pain, and grieve together. A place where children will grow up peacefully, shielded from the violence outside the confines of that peaceful wall covering them._

 _We dreamed of a village. A village where children, adults and the elderly would come together and form bonds. Where children won't be thrust out to kill before they knew how to hold a brush and could enjoy the taste of sake before they died._

 _And today the two of us are content that this dream has come true. For today, this place marks the beginning of the peace we dreamed of achieving one day and shake hands to form a village where everyone can be happy._

 _Today, here with a shake of our hands we unite the two great clans of the Senju and of the Uchiha to form Konohagakure no sato._

 _-Hashirama Senju & Madara Uchiha, Year 1197 Warring Clans Era._

* * *

Naruto's eyes widened and he re-read the whole thing again before brushing the inscription with his palm.

"Jiji…" he whispered to himself, realizing what the Shodai Hokage and his grandfather had went out to achieve together. No one had come to this place since then if he could guess right, and it was seemingly forgotten.

He read the thing again and again, not getting enough of the beautiful words inscribed on the tree. The handwriting was mixed of two people, one of Hashirama Senju and the other of Madara Uchiha.

The year was the last year of the warring clans before shinobi villages rose up from everywhere to achieve what the two formidable clan leaders had once sought to achieve and had it in their palms at that time, seemingly bringing an end to the clan wars and halting the mindless bloodshed then and there.

His senses tingled suddenly, his eyes snapping back and glancing dangerously to the side. He flicked his kunai into a tree, making the birds fly up from it and he stood up, looking around the clearing furiously.

"Who's there?" he called out, getting nothing but silence in return and clenched his fist tightly.

"I know you're there, so no point hiding yourself anymore…" he called out yet again and this time a reply did come back.

"You're good for a child your age, to be able to sense my presence at so young an age you are the grandson of that man. Basking in the writings of his lost dreams…." the childish voice cackled a blood chilling laugh, making him flick out kunais in each of his palms and stand in his defensive kata, crossing the kunais in front of him defensively.

"What do you want?" he asked in a guarded tone, knowing he was all on his own in this abandoned part of the forest.

"Nothing…" the voice echoed from everywhere and his eyes roamed around to gauge his opponent's location. His untrained senses not quite able to pinpoint whoever it was that was hiding here. "…but everything…" the voice said in a cold voice making him stiffen when he saw a strange hooded figure with a straw cloak sitting on a tree and launched his kunai at it. The figure caught it in his finger by it's hole and shook his finger in a 'not so good' fashion.

"Your potential lays hidden…" he whispered suggestively, confusing the blonde boy with his words. Naruto could feel a foreboding feeling in the back of his mind at seeing the figure who was hiding his appearance expertly in the shadow of the tree so he could not see him.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" he asked him, taking out a round of shurikens in his free hand to be ready for anything and the figure cackled.

"Who I am is not important, but your hidden potential needs coming out now. But certain conditions must be met to do so…" he spoke in his same childish tone once more throwing him in for a loop.

"What conditions? What potential are you going on about?" he asked him to milk everything he could from the man who laughed evilly.

"The potential that can only be found when you would lose someone you love right in front of your very eyes…" he whispered, leaning forward with a waving finger to make his point. Naruto couldn't help but shudder at whatever psychopath he had come across.

"Today you'll achieve it…" he whispered suggestively, once more baffling out the blonde boy.

"Your friend, that girl…" he whispered and Naruto's eyes widened in horror. He only had one female friend. He looked at the man with such hateful eyes, it almost made him shudder and lick his lips at the same time.

"What have you done to Tsunade? I swear if you have done anything to her…" he threatened the figure on instinct getting yet another childish laugh from him while he waved his hands up in defense.

"No need to get all riled up on poor old me, I come in peace…" he spoke childishly, making Naruto snort inwardly though he tried to gauge what the man wanted right now. He was much more than what he seemed to the naked eye.

"Then why mention her when you come in peace?" he asked him seriously, to know what he was talking about.

"Well anyone would mention a person who was abducted by some shinobi of a rival village ne?" he asked curiously and Naruto's kunai dropped in shock.

"What?" he asked in a whisper but the figure heard him and grinned seeing his horrified eyes.

"That girl, I saw a man take her from a clearing. All tied up and gagged, slung over his shoulder like a sack…" he trailed off feeling a cold metal on his neck. He glanced back to meet the cold eyes of the blonde and saw the boy he was talking to right now disappear in a puff of smoke, making his eyes widen momentarily.

" _Shadow clone?"_ he thought and heard a small whisper in his ear that made his grin widen to ever epic proportions.

"Where is she?" Naruto asked coldly, and the man couldn't help but feel glee on his insides.

"The southern edges of the village, he must have crossed them by now and moving on towards the borders of the country. I would hurry it up if I were you…" he whispered before Naruto saw him disappearing right in front of his eyes as if he wasn't ever there in the first place.

" _Who was he? Was he telling the truth? What should I do?"_ he thought, his mind jumbled up with a million doubts and questions right now while his hands shook in fear of what might happen to her.

" _Should I go back to the village for help… no would take too much time and the man would escape cleanly without a trace seeing how far I am. There's only one way then…"_ he thought before blurring from the branch he was on a moment later and rushed past branches, blasting several off on his way with huge bursts of chakra from his feet.

He saw the trees coming to an end and jumped down on the ground, running at blazing fast speeds, as fast as his legs would go while pumping them with chakra to keep his muscles going without tiring even a little.

"You're going the wrong way gaki…" a voice spoke from his side only to see him the strange figure hiding in that cloak of straws from before.

"You won't be able to catch up with that man no matter how you see it…" he spoke wisely making Naruto glance at him dangerously.

"Watch me." he spoke calmly, before the figure saw that the blonde was running for a huge cliff. Naruto increased his speed twofold and jumped down with a start, opening his arms to twirl himself in mid air while the figure stood on the edge, completely dumbfounded at the actions of a certain Uchiha.

Though when he looked down, he saw Naruto taking out a kunai in his hand and embedding it in the rocky surface to slow down his fall and grinned.

"Interesting, most interesting…" he cackled and disappeared into thin air yet again.

Naruto's hair flailed around with the air passing through them when his kunai snapped in half from the force it was experiencing. He took out another in both of his hands and embedded them in the rock at the same time with all the force he could muster.

It worked. His speed slowed down and he buried them into the rock right to the hilt to get blocked by a small boulder in there and halt his motion momentarily, and he placed his soles on the rocky surface only to let out a burst of chakra to kick himself back and back flipped to land on the ground while skidding backwards and stopping himself by burying his kunai which were chipped off to the point of no return now.

His arms ached with the huge strain he had put them through but he paid it no heed and started running again. He jumped from boulder to boulder to pass the small stream quickly and just as he did, he was out of the village's borders.

He ran up to see the start of the forest and hopped up on a branch to begin his chase yet again. He smiled a small smile of relief when he saw a small patch of a footstep on a branch and knew he was now right on tail of whoever the abductor was. The man must be in a hurry if he hadn't cleared off his tail and confident that no one would follow him. But his mind was completely jumbled up by the figure from before.

" _Why is he helping me? What the hell does he want?"_ he thought, but shook the thought off. He would have time for that later, right now he had a man to stop.

A man with a face mask covering his face along with full black clothes for stealth hopped from branch to branch straight towards the Rain country's borders. He smiled behind his mask, the information about the small slips in security of the Leaf had been spot on and now he had the Senju heiress on his shoulder. Then they could rebuild the Senju clan in Kumo and use her offspring or even the girl herself for making perfect jinchurikis. The Raikage was going to be smiling in glee at having her in their midst with the Leaf unknown about her loss until it was too late.

 _SWISH…_

He jumped sideways, but howled in pain when three shurikens got embedded in the back of his left thigh. Tsunade wriggled in her bonds and her screams were muffled by the gag tied over her mouth. He looked back to see the forest completely empty and growled behind his mask.

"You have some nerve Leaf scum, I am a sensor myself. You cannot hide from me…" he shouted in the seemingly empty clearing but got no response in return.

 _SWISH…_

His ears caught the sound of another sound of metal whizzing in the air and he ducked when a lone kunai went past where he stood a moment ago, only to growl in annoyance and look around furiously.

Finally, his senses tingled and he grinned. He turned around to see Naruto falling down from a branch over him, a kunai in his hands to embed it straight in his skull. He launched a volley of shurikens himself while mentally sighing in relief that he was only dealing with a little child so he could get this over with quickly.

Naruto's arms and legs curled up to cover his front while the metallic stars got embedded in each of his limbs. Tsunade shouted in her gags and wriggled wildly at seeing what had happened only for her eyes to widen when Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke and a small log fell in place of where he was a moment earlier.

"A substitution?" the masked man growled, once more looking around when he turned around and blocked a kunai ladden hand with his forearm, only to meet the cold blue eyes of his attacker.

Naruto slashed at the man's waist who jumped back quickly to dodge it and the blonde followed him just as quickly, not letting up his charge and give the man any time to reprieve.

The jounin took out a sword and parried his twin kunai strikes expertly with small glancing blocks as if they were mere annoyances. But he had to admit the boy was fierce and relentless in his slashes, that were being executed with perfection laced in them.

"You damned brat, leave while you still can before I put you into an untimely grave…" the man growled, having to fight with one hand while the other had supported his captive on his shoulder.

The jounin finally had enough and pushed back, slashing at Naruto a vertical strike who blocked it with a cross guard over his head with his twin kunais. The blonde winced at the brute force behind it and was forced to one knee, skidding back when he saw the man letting out a kick with his right leg and blocked it by crossing his arms in a cross guard.

Naruto cursed inwardly, the man was too strong and experienced with the only disadvantage that Tsunade was on his shoulder. While he on the other hand, could not use his arsenal of ninjutsu comprising mostly of Fire jutsus and Shadow clones that would only drain him quickly and leave him open for the kill from how exhausted he already was after the long chase to catch up to the man for three hours now.

He ducked under a horizontal slash and rolled away from a vertical one that followed it, while the sword was embedded in the ground with a small cloud of dust to show the force behind it would cleave him straight through if it made direct contact. The jounin had to give some points to the brat, no matter how annoying the pest was in his eyes.

"You're good brat, but how long can you keep this up. Better give up and I'll make it painless…" the man taunted while Naruto paid no heed to the man, but he was right in his assumptions. He was tiring himself out quickly and at a severe disadvantage on his hands. Ninjutsu was no where near sights for this fight lest he burn Tsunade along with the man when he caught the man in a trap with his clones, for which he had no where near enough chakra to pull off the numbers that would need. He was at a severe disadvantage at taijutsu since the man was a jounin, having the experience and advantage of strength over him.

The only thing keeping him alive was his agility and speed and that too was failing quickly as he was forced to dodge another swing of his dodge and the man was adapting to his style slowly yet surely.

That left only one choice.

He threw one of his kunais at the man who flicked it away with his sword and charged at him. Naruto's back met the bark of the tree making the man grin and bring his sword down in a vertical slash to cleave him in half. Naruto twisted himself around the tree and dodged it at the very last moment.

He hopped back a couple of steps with the jounin following him and now his sword had lightning coursing through it's blade to be done with the blonde even with a merely small glancing blow.

" _If only I could make hand seals right now, this brat would be dead…"_ he thought and gave a round house kick for the blonde's arms who twirled around a tree and dodged it at the very last moment yet again.

This went on for four times until Naruto fell on one knee, sweat dripping from his face like rain drops while he panted for dear life. The man chuckled a humorous laugh seeing the downed boy in front of him.

"I must say boy, you were good to be able to hold yourself against a jounin for so long and still breath. But now…" he walked closer to the boy, bringing his sword up to end his life when the blonde let out a swipe to take his legs off from under him.

The jounin hopped over it and let it pass underneath him harmlessly, putting forth a kick in mid air that met the boy's chest and threw him back into a tree's bark with a crash. Naruto coughed violently and slid down, panting and wiping his lips of the blood from his busted lip.

The jounin shook his head with a laugh when Naruto started going through hand seals.

"You won't be able to do any ninjutsu that would be able to take me down with the chakra levels you have right now kid. This fight is…" he trailed off when he saw the blonde's shadowed eyes glance up, now seemingly crimson with a single tomoe in each of them and ended the sequence on Tiger making his eyes widen in realization and horror.

" **Fire Style : Phoenix Flower Jutsu** **!** **"** he exclaimed, pumping out a volley of small fireballs that made the jounin hop back a couple of steps, right into the middle of the clearing.

"Just my luck, I get an Uchiha along with a Senju, you're going to be my compensation for wasting my time brat. But at least you will be a worthwhile present back home." the jounin chuckled, letting the boy make another sequence of hand seals to pump out whatever last ninjutsu he wanted to before he fell over unconscious due to chakra exhaustion himself.

Fire jutsus took a hell lot of chakra and it was only a matter of time before a little child like him…

" **Uzumaki Sealing Style** **!** **-** **"** Naruto's voice rang in the clearing and the man stopped laughing and looked around at the six tags slapped over the trees all around him glow in unison while the blonde went through strange hand seals he had never seen before. But he had heard of the reputation that the Uzumaki sealing skills held in the world.

His mind went back to the six last moment counters that brat had done just now and only now did he realize what he was doing. But still…

"Impossible, there's just no way an Uchiha like you could know seals…" he shouted and raised his sword to charge at the blonde when Naruto made the final seal with a tired smirk.

" **Six Point Paralysis Seal : Fuin** **!** **"** he shouted when his remaining chakra reserves started getting depleted drastically and kanji sprout out from all over the tags and covered the man and Tsunade all over their bodies and halted his charge mid way while Naruto's eyes watched in slow motion as the tip of the blade came towards his right shoulder and stopped just a hair's length away from making contact with his body.

Naruto kept his palms on the ground, keeping the seals around him pumped up, and the man paralyzed with a smirk while a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.

"You damned brat, how long do you think the seal will hold up? I can feel it wavering due to your depleted reserves right now. What do you think you'll achieve by stopping me for a little while before I cleave you?" he sneered at Naruto who shook his head in humor, further confusing the jounin.

"I'm not stupid enough to try and stop you…" he panted with half lidded eyes, making the man look at him dumbfounded and he merely continued, completely ignoring the man no. "…I'm merely stalling you." he completed with a deep breath and his Sharingan wavered for a moment making the man smirk that the seal was about to fall along with the boy.

"For what?" he asked curiously before he slay down the boy and took him with himself and the boy's smirk widened ever so slightly, confusing him yet again.

"For them-" Naruto said before he fell down to the side and the seal disappeared to give him free movement. The man was confused when he felt a hand clasp the back of his neck in an iron grip while Tsunade was slid off his shoulders roughly. His head was twisted around forcefully and his eyes widened in horror when he saw the two pairs of glaring eyes in front of him.

"You have some nerve to try and abduct my granddaughter in broad daylight…" Tobirama's cold voice rang through the clearing while Sasuke Sarutobi stood by his side and untied the little bonded girl from her bonds, his signature cigar donned on his lips as usual letting out small wisps of smoke in the air.

"Jiji how did you know I was here?" Tsunade asked in confusion, making Tobirama answer her without taking his eyes off the man who was struggling in his grip for air and squirming like a headless chicken.

"Because of Naruto…" he explained and the jounin's eyes widened at his words.

"H-How?" he rasped out, not being able to get how he was able to get a message to the Hokage so quickly. It just wasn't possible for him to do so.

"The boy took a shortcut by the cliff behind our village to follow you which was the only possible way for anyone to chase you on foot with the distance you had covered beforehand, just as he crossed the river where our village's borders end, he let out a huge pulse of chakra on purpose to alert our barrier team." Sasuke spoke and the jounin glanced at the unconscious boy with incredulous eyes before his eyes rolled due to lack of oxygen and he fell unconscious when Tobirama hit his pressure point on his neck and let the body fall down like a sack of potatoes.

"To think Mito even taught him about the intricacies of our village's barrier defense system. She isn't letting up on training him eh Tobirama?" Sasuke spoke up, making him turn his glance to him and nod. It was ingenious of the boy, to chase as well as alert him of danger at the same time. Only when he contacted the barrier team that he came to know that his granddaughter had left the village too, had he known what was up and used the **Hiraishin** marker placed on Tsunade's necklace to track her down.

The man had planned it through by placing a suppressing marker on the girl but the **Hiraishin** was still acting like a tracking beacon for him even if he could not flash to her. The man was much too confident in his plans to be cautious of him.

"Naru?" their thoughts were broken by the soft and concerned voice of Tsunade who had his head clasped in her arms for dear life. Her hazelnut eyes looked at him with all the concern in the world.

"Hey wake up…" she whispered, patting his cheek when his eyes blinked unfocused for a moment. His blurry eyes focused for a moment to see Tobirama's wide eyes along with some strange brown haired man's cigar dropping from his mouth in shock. The last thing he heard was the soft voice of his friend before he blacked out completely.

"Naru, your eyes…" he heard and Tsunade saw him fall limp and tears welled up in the corner of her eyes while she hugged him to death. She felt a hand clasp her shoulder and looked back to see her granduncle's stoic face holding a small smile on his lips for reassurance.

"He's fine…" he spoke to calm the girl down and got on one knee when a tear rolled down her puffy cheek.

"But-" she retorted with a soft sniffle when he placed his fingers of her lips to shush up her mumbles.

"He's just exhausted, the boy ran three hours straight and jumped off a cliff to chase after you besides taking a jounin head on. He'll be out like a light for a week before he's up and about again…" he explained the girl who started wailing for her life while clutching her friend for dear life.

"That idiot… what the hell was he thinking… jumping off a cliff? I'll send him straight into a coma when he wakes up…" she sobbed out making Sasuke chuckle and Tobirama slapped his palm over his face with a soft chuckle, maybe he shouldn't have mentioned that.

Even he couldn't stop from laughing now that the rush was finally over and his granddaughter was fine and dandy thanks to a certain Uchiha. But he did remember those crimson eyes he saw before the boy had fallen unconscious and glanced at Sasuke seriously who nodded and disappeared with the now prisoner jounin slung over his shoulder like a rag doll and disappeared in a swirl of flames.

Tobirama himself flashed back into the village to get the boy some medical aid and get him checked up for all possible injuries along with his crying granddaughter.

 **A week later...**

 **Konoha Hospital**

In a seemingly simple room, slept Naruto with a whole lot of flowers and gifts stacked around him. His eyes finally flickered open and he came to, his vision blurring before it focused completely to stare straight into a pare of hazelnut eyes.

He blinked and the eyes blinked back at him.

He caught the girl in a bear hug a moment later and buried his face in her neck with soft sigh of relief passing his lips.

"I'm glad you're okay…" he whispered and Tsunade smiled, hugging him back equally tightly. He broke off the hug to check for her injuries while he had cupped her cheeks when she stopped him with a giggle.

"I'm 'kay baka. You're the one who was out like a light for a week…" she said and Naruto rubbed his neck sheepishly with a nod. Though he was surprised when her arms wrapped around his chest again and she placed her head on his shoulder.

"You scared me Naru…" she whispered and Naruto smiled and hugged her tightly.

"You scared me too Tsuna…" he whispered back and she nodded, saying nothing else.

Both taking a moment to let it absorb that the other was alright.

 **Meanwhile Outside the room…**

Mito looked on through the small glass window on the door with her hands clasped over her heart and a fond smile on her face.

"Aww they are so adorable hugging like that…" she cooed softly, getting smiles from the two men sitting by her side. Sasuke's fingers twitched due to not being able to smoke in here and it annoyed him to no end while Tobirama had a can of coffee which he sipped on calmly.

Sasuke popped a chewing gum in his mouth to take his mind off getting a smoke while they waited until Mito had given the Hokage permission to disturb the moment between the children inside. It was really unbecoming of their legendary status to get scolded by a women, but still…

"I'm so getting them married when they grow up…" she whispered with an aww and the reactions were instant.

 _POOF…_

Tobirama sprayed a nurse completely brown by spewing off coffee onto her and Sasuke had choked on his chewing gum and was patting his chest to get it to go either way and was rolling on the ground in agony.

"Men…" Mito pouted and watched the scene inside with sparkling eyes.

 **Inside…**

"Jiji told me you jumped off a cliff…" she said sternly making him gulp seeing her angry eyes and looked around for an escape.

"Well, it wasn't a jump. It was merely falling expertly… and safely with a lot of speed behind it…" he explained lamely making her narrow her eyes and bonk his head softly while she caught his collar in her hand.

"Baka don't you dare do anything so reckless again, you get me?" she asked him and he said nothing this time, staying silent for a moment.

"Won't you do the same for me?" he asked her calmly, and she fell silent with all her anger washing away. She looked down and played with her bed-sheet, a small dust of pink on her cheeks from his words. She had no answer to that, she would do it in a heartbeat too.

"Whatever, don't take this on me. You're the one who's stupid…" she mumbled lamely and just sat there on his lap with a small bout of silence falling between them.

Naruto's eyes widened when she pressed her lips on his cheeks and quickly retreated back as if he were poisoned. He rubbed his cheek where he had felt the kiss and looked at the girl who had turned around with her arms crossed, her back facing him so he couldn't see her embarrassed face right now.

"Arigato…" she whispered and he nodded dumbly, not that she could see him.

"And don't tell this to anyone or I'll kill you…" she threatened quickly and he smiled, poking her forehead like usual much to her annoyance. He was glad she was still the same impulsive idiot like always.

"Hai!" he said before he saw her sparkling eyes looking at him in wonder and he let a soft sigh escape his lips.

"When did you learn those new jutsu? You never showed them to me, I'm so seeing them later on…" she started her barrage of questions and answers by herself while he listened on patiently to the obliviously blabbering girl.

 **Outside…**

"Aww she kissed him, they're so cute…" Mito cooed barely containing herself from going in and scooping those two in her arms.

 _THUMP…THUMP…_

She sweat dropped seeing the two unconscious men by her side and her eye twitched dangerously.

"Perverts, it was an innocent kiss on the cheek…" she grumbled and waited for them to come to consciousness before she sent them back into it. Though she was startled when Kagami came in and looked on confused at their unconscious Hokage and his trusted friend unconscious on the ground.

A few moments later Tobirama straightened out his clothes and looked at his ex-subordinate with a curious look.

"How goes the interrogation?" he asked the Uchiha seriously, who smirked knowingly at his sensei making him smirk back. Tobirama had assigned him in charge of cracking the abductor up, and Uchiha's were viciously known for breaking their captive's mind during interrogations when they were done due in prompt to the severity of the mind tricks they used and Tobirama had told him to go all out, just that he got the information from him before the man was turned into a vegetable.

"He cracked this morning sensei, your hunch was right. It was Kumo." he answered his unasked question, making his eyes turn cold in the empty hallway of the hospital and he leaned back while rubbing his temples. That Sandaime Raikage's coveting for their Kekkei genkai's and hidden techniques wasn't lost to him. But for him to go this far…

"Why Tsunade then? She doesn't even have a bloodline?" he asked stoically and Kagami looked around.

"We should talk in private." he answered making Tobirama nod at his need for privacy, the matter must be urgent then. The three men disappeared and Mito said nothing but knew what it meant and what fate her granddaughter had just been saved from. She moved in to meet the children while the men went to go and talk about serious matters regarding international affairs while she had a couple of blondes to coddle and hug them to death.

 **In the Hokage Office…**

Tobirama sealed the room up, with Sasuke falling down on the couch by the side and finally lighting up his much needed cigar while Kagami took a chair in front of Tobirama. The Hokage sealed up the room for privacy and nodded for him to go on.

"They wanted to use her to be turned into a jinchuriki seeing how compatible a Senju's body is with a bijuu since Uzushiogakure is fortified beyond belief for them to infiltrate. They want a weaponized and perfect jinchuriki for use as a deterrent." he spoke seriously, making Tobirama cross his fingers in front of his mouth. His mind racking it's gears and all came down to only one simple possibility.

"You know what this means Tobirama, no point in going about it. A stable jinchuriki is only needed so badly under one condition…" Sasuke spoke from the side with a puff of smoke and Tobirama said nothing. Kagami too knew where this was headed.

"Today was much too close for comfort…" he finally broke the silence and the other two nodded. "…if Tsunade had been taken or even Naruto for that matter, we would have had a precarious situation on our hands with one or even both our clan's heirs in the palm of Kumo for a factory to be made into a new clan in their village." he drawled out making the two nod at his words.

"Naruto needs to be questioned as well Tobirama, he was no where near where Tsunade was taken from. Far from it. Yet he got her location even before we realized she had been abducted in the first place, something doesn't add up." Sasuke spoke his mind and Tobirama nodded, Kagami added his two cents too.

"That is besides the point that the jounin knew of our internal security's working as if he were one of our own. We have an internal leak on our hands too." he spoke and Tobirama knew it couldn't get any worse than this.

"What do we do sensei?" Kagami finally asked and he let out a sigh.

"Nothing…" he spoke finally while laying back in his chair and got a raised eyebrow from Sarutobi.

"Nothing?" he asked incredulously and got a nod from Tobirama.

"We have no evidence he was on direct orders from his village other than his own statement. He didn't even have a piece of identification on him, Kumo can deny he was even one of their own right at this moment and we have no evidence other than the interrogation reports to say otherwise." he spoke, his years as a leader kicking in and both men by his side fell silent, knowing he was right.

"But…" he finally spoke the word they were rearing to hear. "…it is a big step from Kumo, no doubt for the start of something much bigger than just a kidnapping. Sasuke take charge of our spy network for now and keep an eye on them and Iwa. I have a hunch that mummy Mu must have had a hand in this too. Kagami, draw out the leaks in our forces, we have spies ladden in every branch if we were infiltrated so cleanly in broad daylight while the infiltrator left without a trace. I'll take care of questioning Naruto myself and get to the bottom of this." he spoke and the two nodded, agreeing with his words but Tobirama knew what this was and what it marked.

It was the calm before the storm.

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : There is the next chapter. Hope this fight was up to par as well and Naruto's growth is good enough. Well it is for me, but next time we skip onto graduations and the first missions as well as the teams that would be drawn out. So Sharingan awakens in Naruto and as for those who say Naruto isn't dark and crazy enough as an Uchiha, well Shisui wasn't like that too and he was an Uchiha. Well, I'll see you next time with a new chapter soon, and Jiraiya and Orochimaru will be shown up too so until next time keep reading and reviewing Ja Ne ;)**_

 _ **PS : I cried and sulked when almost every one of you realized it was Sasuke in the previous chapter just so you know. And I am trying to keep the plot as original as possible while moving it at as fluent a pace as I can and remove as many mistakes as I possibly can. And I'm sure he's plenty strong for an eight year old right? Dunno 'bout you guys ;)**_


	5. Graduation

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **(Timeskip 5 years)**

* * *

 **Uzumaki Clan compounds…**

* * *

"Should we stop Naruto-kun?" Mito's gentle voice rang in the small training clearing of her estate. The boy in question was down on one knee, sweat dripping from his chin onto the ground below while his breaths were short and labored. He ran a hand through his hair, slapping his hand over his forehead softly to make his blood rush go away and shook his head in defiance.

"Not yet…" he spoke silently, but the determination behind those words wasn't lost to Mito.

She smiled, seeing him dig his jet black sword into the ground for support to stand up and flicked her own sword sideways, it's shining blade glimmering in the sun along with Naruto's blade letting out a starry glimmer straight down down it's edge.

He stood up, his legs shaky but his eyes still the same defiant blue until the end. In that moment she knew how stubborn he could be, his hand raising the blade by his side to leave only it's tip touching the ground.

"Very well then, come…" she called him sternly, readying her blade in front of her while the blonde dug into the last of his strength and charged ahead, leaving a cloud of dust behind him and met her blade with a violent clang.

His eyes met hers only for a moment before he broke the engaged blades and started on a violent series of attacks on her from all sides. Sparks flew all around them, with Naruto's vicious yet precise attacks being deflected efficiently by the lady with a red handled sword in her palms in a graceful yet deadly dance.

She glanced his straight slash to her lower abdomen just by a hair length to let it pass by her side harmlessly and put her own blade's tip on his jugular with a smile.

"There, the spar's over…" she said gently, but her voice holding a hint of pride and smiled seeing his nervous gulp as he tried to say something and moved her sword back a bit only by a hair length to allow him to speak his mind.

"Is it?" he whispered, confusing her with his words when he smirked. Her eyes widened, she had seen that smirk quite a few times now, each time it meant he had something up his sleeve. She nicked his neck a little and the result was instant.

 _POOF…_

The Naruto in front of her vanished in a cloud of smoke making her heart skip a beat and a fond smile adorned her lips when she felt the cold steel meet her sensitive neck. Her left eye glanced back only to meet the blue one of Naruto whose face was shadowed from her angle, leaving only his right eye visible to her, and she had to say it made quite an intimidating sight to behold.

"Now it's over." he whispered calmly in her ear. Her lips curled up in an amused smile, yet the prideful look in her eyes increased twofold.

"You've grown so much Naru-chan." she spoke in her gentle and motherly voice, making his eyes soften at his mother figure when something unexpected happened.

 _SPLASH…_

He stood there dumbfounded, completely drenched in water which dripped all over his front now. He heard the sound of seemingly melodic giggles from behind him and turned around only to see Mito sitting on the porch with a plate of cookies by her side. Her hands held her sides as she laughed her heart out and he blinked in confusion.

"You're here…" he whispered, pointing his blade at her when his eyes widened in realization.

"Then that means…" he whispered in disbelief when her laughter came under control, not stopping but coming down so she could speak and she nodded, wiping the corner of her eye off it's happy tear.

"Hai, that was a water clone my dear disciple. Finally, you were able to beat one with all the restrictions I placed on you." she spoke proudly, motioning for him to come to her like a mother called her little one to her. He crouched down on one knee in front of her and became quite embarrassed when she started wiping his face with the sleeve of her silky kimono with a fond smile on her face.

Her right hand cupped his cheek, rubbing it with his thumb while she looked at him with affection and pure adoration.

"You've come a long way, I couldn't be prouder." she spoke in a soft and honest voice making him turn a bit pink in embarrassment and nod timidly.

"Arigato Mito Baa-chan, it's all thanks to you." he said honestly making her smile. She patted his cheek gently before popping a cookie in his lips and motioning him to go in.

"Alright now off you go, wipe yourself off before you catch a cold." she scolded him, making him stumble in and giggled. Her hand picked the cup by her side, sipping it while closing her eyes and put it on her lap, exuding a calm aura all around her.

"How long are you going to pretend to not be here Tobirama?" she asked to thin air, smiling when she heard a tired sigh from behind her. Sure enough a moment later, the Nidaime Hokage was sitting by her side and gazing at the lush gardens of her house calmly.

"He's grown." he stated, having seen the spar from start to finish. An hour of straight forward offensive swordsmanship was impressive at the control he still had over each of his swings in the end. He himself being a swordsman, could see a skilled one when he saw one. But he couldn't expect any less from an apprentice of an Uzumaki kenjutsu master.

"It still amazes me you taught him the ways of the sword." he spoke, taking a cup himself and filling it up for a sip. She merely smiled, waving her legs back and forth the porch happily.

"He asked for it, and I just couldn't refuse him when he asked me to teach him to be worthy enough to hold his father's sword." she answered him, getting a curt nod from the man. His eyes glanced at the lacquer blade lying by his side, still unsheathed and gleaming in the sun darkly yet gracefully.

"He graduates tomorrow." he stated in a matter of fact tone getting a small hum from the Uzumaki heiress. It was the last week before team placements, an off week for all the graduates so they could do whatever they wished before they were off doing missions.

"I know, he told me he aced the Academy through and through." she spoke proudly while he nodded curtly.

"That he did…" he spoke, his mind going back to the argument they had five years ago. "…he could have been graduated long ago." he spoke as an afterthought and didn't glance to her side to know he was being glared at.

"He was ready at eight years old. The educational committee agreed seeing he outwitted a jounin back then and his knowledge far surpassed that off his peers, three years his senior as a matter of fact. He could have been a chunin by now…" he was cut off by the Uzumaki heiress who had a look in her eyes that told him she had heard enough.

"Or he could have been dead, physically handicapped, mentally scarred from being thrusted into pressures of life not meant for him at so young an age." she retorted coldly making him sigh.

"But he wanted to, and had agreed…" he replied back instantly in his ever calm and factual tone making her eyes narrow in on him dangerously.

"What do you expect from an eight year old, peculiarly curious child when asked if he wanted to graduate and go out into a world he wasn't ready for. Of course he agreed, but I knew better." she retorted just as fast and he narrowed his own eyes on her.

"Did you?" he asked seriously in a low voice making her words die down in her throat. She looked down at her cup, her bangs shadowing her eyes from him while she chewed on her lip nervously.

"I did what I thought was right…" she whispered, her voice wavering as if not trusting her words enough herself. To this day she didn't know if stopping him from graduating early had caused her to unknowingly hinder his untimely growth, or truly save him from what she had feared would happen that had caused her to do so.

"And I trusted you enough to agree instantly to it and I still do…" a soft yet firm voice spoke from behind her, a pair of arms wrapping around her shoulders to feel herself being pulled in a hug from behind. She smiled softly, rubbing the cheek now laid over her shoulder and placed a peck over it, her fears now washing away instantly.

Tobirama couldn't help but smile a little smile when he saw his sister in law nuzzle her cheek with her adoptive grandson in a tender manner. The bond he shared with her was a special one indeed, that much even he could see and as much as loathed to be proven wrong, he had to agree it had been the right decision on her part.

Maybe thrusting him into the shinobi life so early might have been the wrong decision on his part, he had vouched for his promotion personally after all. But he had tried to bring out the diamond that still lay in the rough a little earlier, but alas it was a moot point for now.

"Naruto…" he called, making the two blink at him in unison and break away from the hush whispered conversation they were having out of his earshot.

"A spar if you would, that is if you are not tired enough?" he asked blankly, not bothering for an answer and got up to go in the middle of the clearing. Naruto smirked, picking his blade up and Mito sighed softly seeing the tired boy still going for it.

"Men…" she whispered to herself tiredly but kept her gaze on the two males who were about to have it out now.

Tobirama's right hand slid down to his waist, clasping a small hilt and taking it out making Naruto raise an eyebrow before his eyes widened realizing what it truly was. Tobirama channeled his chakra through his palm, the hilt's top studded with three claw like protrusions suddenly coming to life when a seemingly glowing chakra blade grew out of it.

"The **Raijin no Ken**... the legendary sword of the thunder god." Naruto whispered in amazement at seeing it truly being wielded for the first time. Tobirama smirked seeing his star struck eyes, swinging his faithful blade to his side, Naruto's baby blue eyes following it's each and every movement.

"You give my sword such a stare while wielding the **Kuroikazuchi** yourself?" Tobirama asked making Naruto break out of his stupor and glance at his own gleaming black blade and clenched his fist tightly over it's dark hilt.

 _[Kuroikazuchi : Black Lightning]_

His eyes turned back to Tobirama and he let his muscles drop lose. Tobirama stood on guard when he saw the boy stand simply as if just holding a sword simply by his side. But his trained eyes could see the twitch in his wrists showing he was getting ready to go on the offense. He decided to humor the…

 _CLANG…_

On instincts alone did he bring his blade up to block the slash that would have cleaved his head in half. His eyes narrowed on the boy's focused ones, as he saw his blonde hair flailing in the wind while he forced down more pressure onto him from above in his jump.

The Raijin was flicked to the side, shifting his body weight a little away to throw his opponent off balance that worked like a charm.

He brought his foot up on the disoriented boy's chest, the sole making contact with it before he was launched back like a rag doll. Naruto tumbled back, rolling on the ground before stopping himself and skidding back on his knee, using his sword to halt his skid while still going for a couple of meters and looked at the trail he had left in amazement.

" _Amazing, he didn't even let out a chakra burst. That was just pure strength…"_ he looked on at the man a bit in admiration and winced. He thanked the man that hadn't put any chakra into his kick, it still felt like he had been slugged like a sledge hammer as it is.

"Using a **Shunshin** to enhance your first preemptive strike on an opponent you know is stronger than you. Smart, but if your opponent has the experience like I myself do, he can read the small gap that it opens up along the way as well…" Tobirama spoke wisely, as if a sensei himself scolding a child for a wrong move and Naruto stood up, wiping his cheek off the dust speck.

"My Sharingan negates the tunnel vision that comes with the **Shunshin** …" he retorted making Tobirama narrow his eyes. To be able to counter a point at him, admirable, but he hadn't been a Kage for so long only to pick on paperwork at his desk.

"It also leaves you disoriented for a moment, that cannot be negated by you no matter how you see it. It leaves a small gap, a much too small one, albeit one that can be countered as I showed you just now." he countered back and Naruto relented while clenching his fist on the blade. He had been tinkering with the small teleportation trick for a while now to have it meld in with combat, but this was a point he knew he hadn't roughed out yet.

"It's not possible." Tobirama stated, as if reading his mind and his eyes widened in shock. He saw Tobirama smirk knowingly and the blonde looked down with a saddened gaze.

"Naruto…" he called out, once more activating his blade to life while the blonde looked up. "…don't blink." he said and Naruto wanted to blink at his strange words but said nothing when the man vanished in front of his eyes into thin air. His own eyes widened when his hair coming onto his eyes flew back and a small cut appeared on his cheek out of thin air, a trickle of blood trailing down his cheek.

He wiped it off with his palm, still feeling the small electricity that coursed within his face at contact, no doubt from the Raijin's blade. His eyes looked back to see Tobirama's back facing him, his blade now held by his side when the yellow blade disappeared into it's hilt.

"You used the **Shunshin** -" he wanted to say but was cut off by Tobirama.

"Activate your Sharingan." he stated in a demanding tone making Naruto a little peeved, but he nodded when the man turned around with a stern look on his face. Mito watched on from the side, her chin on her fist with a fond smile on her face. Now maybe her apprentice could see what she had been drilling into his head for weeks, that he was doing something that couldn't be done.

Naruto did as he was asked to, his eyes changing their color from an adorable blue to the deadly crimson in a flicker of a second while three tomoes spun in his eyes in a slow predatory way.

Once more Tobirama disappeared right in front of his very eyes, another nick appearing on his opposite cheek to leave a small trickle of blood trail down his cheek. He wiped it off and looked at his bloodied palm in disbelief.

"It's impossible, there's just no way. I've seen all **Shunshin's** , even elemental ones. None of them is so fast as to evade the Sharingan…" he whispered to himself in a lost voice, trying to make sense when Tobirama cut his thoughts in half.

"It isn't a **Shunshin** child, this is the **Hiraishin.** What you're trying to attempt, is the same thing I attempted myself when I was young. To try and incorporate the simple Body Flicker into seem-less combat. It maybe used for a single use but the limitations I showed you just now were enough to render it completely useless…" he explained but Naruto could see that there was no disorientation on the man's slightly wrinkled face. The teleportation was almost instantaneous too, as if he really was moving at speeds even his eyes couldn't follow.

"The **Hiraishin no jutsu** …" Mito's voice voice rang through the clearing calmly, her palms now on her lap while she looked at him with a calm smile. "…devised by Tobirama himself is what you're after Naruto. It's isn't a simple D-rank technique that is used to go here and there, that is instantaneous teleportation through the means of a Space-Time seal that allows said user to teleport near the beacon in a split second…" she explained with a snap of her fingers making his eyes widen in surprise and realization. This was the branch he wanted to specialize his Fuinjutsu in, after Mito had told him to pick one to pursue further onto the advanced sealing techniques like she had done for barrier and restraining seals herself. But still…

"You said to a seal, but there is no seal he used. How did he do it just now then?" Naruto asked the point bugging him and Mito giggled in her hand while Tobirama smirked, pointing to his shoulder. Naruto looked onto it and sure enough a small sealing formula was over it. But when…

He remembered him patting his shoulder when he had asked him to spar in the first place and he realized when he had placed it and pumped the side of his fist in his palm with a sage like nod.

"You can mark anything you touch?" he asked curiously making Tobirama quite surprised at his acute deduction and nodded his affirmative at the boy. His deduction skills were quite impressive he noted and glanced at Mito who had a fond smile on her lips and now he knew why he had been called here today by her so suddenly for a meeting.

"I see…" he sighed getting a sly smile from the Uzumaki heiress and he knew he was defeated now. Naruto glanced between the two with a lost look before Mito waved her hand dismissively.

"Now now let's continue the spar ne, I want to judge my apprentice's growth. So get on it…" she admonished the two playfully with a clap and both got into it. Their blades met in sparks in a moment, slashing at each other with the precision of true swordsmen. It went on for a while before Naruto was seemingly outwitted each time and tossed around like a rag doll by the ever stoic Kage.

"Alright I think that's enough." he said finally, taking a deep breath after their hour long session and looked on at the blonde sprawled on the ground like a bedsheet with a smirk.

He wasn't old…he was merely past his prime, he told himself with a nod and went inside for a wet towel while Naruto puffed like a steam engine, completely out of breath.

"Baa-chan…I want that…jutsu…" he puffed out in between his heavy breaths making Tobirama skip a step when he stepped on the porch and Mito giggled with a nod.

"Hai, I'll get you a scroll for it's basics but each seal is different so you'll have to do it from scratch. I'll let you have it as a pet project of sorts…" she told him with a giggle, glancing at the twitching Tobirama who knew where the scroll would come from and sighed in defeat, walking in while shaking his head.

He just couldn't win with her no matter what he did.

"Absolutely no respect I tell you…" he muttered to himself in annoyance at being pulled by his ear to suit her needs as she pleased. Mito though saw her disciple sit up with a faraway look in his eyes while he was staring intently at his blade.

"What's the matter Naru-chan?" she asked him curiously, not being able to read the boy who merely let out a small sigh.

"Why won't you let me use my Sharingan against you Baa-chan?" he asked her and she stiffened for a moment but relaxed with a little smile on her face.

"And don't tell me so I don't become over reliant on it, using it once just to see how far I've come is different. You avoid this topic each time I bring it up, if you don't trust me enough just say it clearly. At least don't make me feel stupid…" he whispered to himself making her heart twist. She hadn't realized what her denial to his questions might be making him got through, but still there were things he wasn't quite ready for just yet.

"It is for your own safety Naruto…" she spoke seriously, making his eyes snap at her in full focus. "…that is all I'll say for now, you aren't ready for the answer to this question yet. You still have much to learn and so much more to explore. I promise you I'll tell you when I deem you ready, so I trust me alright?" she asked him softly making him smile and nod. At least she had been honest enough with him.

"Alright, I trust you Baa-chan and thank you for being honest with me." he spoke calmly and got u, to get a shower and return home when footsteps were heard coming straight to the two.

"Hey see who I brought…" the happy voice of Tsunade rang through their ears and sure enough she had a small white blanketed bundle in her arms.

"Babababa…" a small gurgled voice came from the bundle making Mito squeal and pull the thing in her own arms.

"Aww there's my baby…" she cooed and Naruto heard some small giggles from the blanket. He peered in, making the small three-year-old turn his eyes at her and giggle.

"Nananana…" he babbled on getting a giggle from Mito while the little one clapped happily. She held it to her apprentice who looked on with a confused gaze.

"Go on hold him…" she motioned for him to take it when he shook his head and took a step back.

"No I shouldn't, what if I drop him?" he spoke nervously making Mito smile.

"Don't be such a child, he loves you so much see…" she held the boy to face him who had a thumb in his toothy mouth and looking at him with his wide brown eyes. A moment later he opened his arms for Naruto and the blonde took a step closer and put his own palms on his waist to pull him closer. Mito let her little grandson go, seeing Naruto hold him so gently as if he were a glass doll and saw his mystified expression while he poked the little infant's cute cheeks gently with his finger to make him giggle.

Mito just watched the scene in fascination while Tobirama came back with a towel and rose an eyebrow seeing Naruto having his grandnephew in his arms. He was surprised, never did Naruto agree before to hold him out of fright and they hadn't pushed him but looks like Mito was onto her antics again.

"Hey…" he whispered, seeing the small full of life child yawn and curl up in his arms to sleep. Naruto put him close in his neck, cradling him as if the child were fragile and closed his eyes with a smile. Why hadn't he done this before?

"Hey, stop hogging him Mmph-" Tsunade words became muffled when Mito put her hand over her lips and she shushed him with a finger over her own lips. Tsunade stood confused then realized her brother had fallen asleep in her friend's arms and she pouted.

"He doesn't ever fall asleep in my arms, always playing or pulling my hair…" she sulked making her grandmother laugh softly. She looked on at Naruto who was gazing at the asleep infant in his arms as if he were Kami's gift to man which he really was.

"Naruto, let me put him into his crib…" she called out in a whisper and he broke out of his trance and nodded, handing her the bundle gently.

"Gomen…" he whispered and she shook her head, taking the asleep child and walked in to put him to sleep.

"Hey Naruto, let's play something or have a shuriken competition. This time I'm so beating you-" Tsunade chirped up, getting a poke on her forehead from Naruto who gave her a tired smile.

"Sorry, I'm too tired Tsuna, some other time…" he spoke tiredly, the exhaustion finally catching up to him and he walked away with his hands dug in his pockets. She frowned, rubbing her forehead to see his back walking away and turned around with a grin to see her granduncle having flashed away to his office and the whole area lay silent with an imaginary breeze making her slump her shoulders.

"Come on, they're so boring…" she sulked and went inside to see her little brother who was sleeping and pass her time with her grandmother today.

* * *

 **Hokage Office**

* * *

Tobirama's desk lay jumbled with piles upon piles of the passing graduates this year. He had yet to assign them to teams. His eyes gazed upon one file, he opened it up to read the name of the prospective student Hiruzen his own pupil had requested for.

Some kid named Orochimaru, apparently a war orphan from the previous war. According to Hiruzen a once in a century prodigy that he wanted to take on as a student himself. He said he would make quite a difference in his forces after he was done training him, he would see it to believe it he mused and kept it aside to assign the dead last of that batch along with him to balance the two out, some kid named Jiraiya.

"Building up the teams?" a voice spoke by his side, making him glance up before resuming on his work with a curt nod.

"Indeed." he spoke calmly, to look for the third member for their team.

"Why call me then? I have work to do you know…" the voice drawled out tiredly, making him shake his head.

"You're going to be assigned a team this year." he stated bluntly making the man cough up on his puff of cigar.

"Say what?" he wheezed out in coughs making Tobirama glance up and push two files to him that he caught deftly and opened them up.

"Ahh these two…" he said, reading the names of the top two graduates of the first batch. He himself had kept an eye on them over time, and he presently had no qualms with them being stuck to him, maybe he could toughen them up nicely and show his son up while he was at it.

"What about the third one?" he asked, snapping the files shut making Tobirama smirk at his lack of denial. After years of pestering the man had finally given in to taking on a team.

"Hmm?" he hummed himself, rummaging through files when Sasuke spoke up.

"Why not give me Tsunade?" he asked, making Tobirama look up and raise an eyebrow.

"What? The three are friends so no problems with teamwork there and they'll work well together, I'll make sure of it." he drawled out, making Tobirama shake his head.

"The team would be too unbalanced then, I am placing her on Hiruzen's squad since no other promising student comes from the second batch of graduates to fill up his third placement. And besides, I have just the student I would like for you to train…" he said, finally getting a file that made Sasuke raise an eyebrow and lean forward in his couch out of curiosity.

"Oh? And who might that be?" he asked, intently curious as to who he had in mind and Tobirama's smirk told him he had something planned in that devious mind of his.

"The boy has failed two times already. Didn't pass this year too, I passed him through my personal say in the matter. The boy is ready, he needs a sensei to guide him through his condition and a pair of comrades he could place his faith on. He'll do quite nicely on your squad…" he drawled out, making Sasuke even more curious.

"Failed twice you say, yet you passed him personally. What's this condition and why did he fail twice?" he asked, the curiosity now too much for him and Tobirama smirked.

"You see I recently did a personal see through on his case, the boy due to his condition attended the Academy during the day while training too hard at night to make up for his flaws leaving him so winded he would sleep through the classes. Either he'll stay a genin for the rest of his life or he'll become an integral part of my forces if you help him pull through." he explained and Sasuke could feel the boy was determined to be a shinobi just from his words and nodded, trusting the man enough with this and himself wanting to make the boy into what he might be molded into one day.

"Alright I'll take him." he spoke confidently and Tobirama handed him the third file to study it thoroughly, while he flickered out in a swirl of flames and Tobirama got back into his job.

* * *

 **(Timeskip One Week later)**

* * *

 **Konoha Ninja Academy**

* * *

All the graduating students from all batches sat in the classroom to await themselves being assigned to their new squads and be off for a new phase of their lives.

"I wish we could all be together…" Tsunade drawled out lazily, lying on the desk in a half asleep state.

"Yeah me too, it would be awesome right?" Sakumo said, his own feet placed on the table with his arms crossed by his head.

"Whoever gets assigned wherever, we'll still be friends no matter what." the soft voice of Naruto spoke making his two friends smirk and nod at their friend confidently. The door to the class slid open, causing everyone to hush up and look forward to their own squads being called out.

The instructor stood on his stand, looking at them all with a proud smile.

"All your efforts over the past few years come to fruition today, from today on you are all genin or first level ninjas. You will all be assigned into squads of three under an elite jounin who will instruct you until you get yourself promoted to chunin and start taking on missions with higher ranks while leading your own teams. The trials ahead will be difficult, but I'm sure all of you will do just fine. Now I'll be going through the squad names for this year so please hear it the first time and don't ask me to repeat them. Now squad one…" his voice drawled out several teams until he reached squad six.

"Now for Squad Six, under the leadership of Jounin Hiruzen Sarutobi will be Tsunade Senju…" he said and the blonde kunoichi perked up hearing her name. "… Jiraiya, and Orochimaru." he said and a dark cloud loomed over her head at not being with either of her friends. She was pulled into a one armed hug by her best friend and leaned on his shoulder sadly.

"It's okay, I'm sure your new teammates will be great…" he whispered reassuringly when a loud voice drawled out the attention of everyone.

"Sensei why does an incredible shinobi like me have to be stuck with a flat chested board like her, don't you have any other beautiful kunoichis for my squad?" the voice shouted making Naruto glance at the white haired boy with two red lines on his cheek and he felt a dark aura surround Tsunade and laughed nervously when he saw her glare at him.

"Come now, he seems fine. Just a bit… well…" he trailed off looking at Sakumo for help who looked away and whistled innocently. No help from him in this.

"You damned pervert who are you calling flat chested? I'm just thirteen for Kami's sake…" Tsunade shouted angrily, her face flushed in her legendary temper making the instructor sigh tiredly.

"Yeah keep telling yourself that ply-board." he said snidely making her bristle in anger and put her foot on the table whole rolling up her sleeves to sock him in the face before the teacher cut their rants out.

"Alright that's enough, Jiraiya the teams were set up by the Hokage himself and if you have any problem you take it up with him…" he said making the boy purse his lips and huff.

"Plus, Tsunade was the top kunoichi in her batch while you were the worst in yours. He merely put you together to balance you out." he explained wisely making the boy turn embarrassed when the whole class laughed at his expense and Tsunade stuck her tongue out proudly getting a laugh from Tsunade.

"Squad Seven, under the leadership of Sasuke sarutobi will be Naruto Uchiha…" he stated flatly making said boy perk up along with his two companions. "…Sakumo Hatake…" he spoke, making the two boys grin and clap their hands in a high five while Tsunade had a scowl on her face.

"...and Might Duy." he finished making the two boys blink and look around for their third teammate. They kept their eyes peeled around before turning back to see a dazzling smile with a literal sparkle in his teeth along with a nice guy posed boy giving them a thumbs up.

"Yosh, I'm Might Duy my youthful teammates. Let's bask in the springtime of youth together and fan our eternal flames of youth to the brightest they can." he exclaimed proudly and Naruto and Sakumo were utterly and pathetically…speechless. They couldn't believe this green monstrosity was their teammate when Naruto felt himself being hugged from the side.

"You and him are going to get along just fine, I'm sure…" Tsunade giggled and Naruto let out a soft sigh. Sakumo face palmed loudly when the teacher began going through the rest of his list and shook his head.

"Great another eccentric friend in place of Tsunade…" he whispered making said girl's eye twitch.

"Oi!, I take offense to that. I am nothing like… that…" she pointed a finger to the brilliantly smiling boy making the two boys sigh.

"Yeah you keep telling yourself that…" both said in unison getting bonks on their heads from the aggravated kunoichi. The teacher walked out, leaving the children to sort themselves out and wait for their senseis to go along with them.

Naruto saw three new people coming to them, two of them being their newly identified teammates while the third had yellow slitted eyes along with a pale complexion and long black hair. He wore a white kimono with fishnet armor underneath along with the required holsters strapped on him.

"Yosh, I'm Might Duy. It's a pleasure to meet you my friend." the eccentric boy in a green spandex suit explained making Naruto smile, looking at the outstretched hand and shook it with a smile.

"I'm Naruto Uchiha, and this…" he pointed his thumb to the silver haired boy who waved simply with a smile. "…is Sakumo Hatake, I hope we can be friends and become a good team." Naruto spoke politely getting yet another dazzling smile from the boy who couldn't help but feel happy to find such friendly teammates.

Naruto's eyes turned to the only boy he didn't recognize or know as of yet and he saw him scrutinizing him as if he was sizing him up, it made him feel quite nervous to feel such an intense stare directly onto him.

"Can I help you?" he asked, only to make the staring die down and the boy merely shook his head and smiled.

"I'm sorry, my name is Orochimaru. Nice to meet you." he said with an offer for a hand shake that Naruto took quite happily. He saw Tsunade in another heated debate with her other teammate and pulled her by her arm with a sigh.

"Go on introduce yourself…" he scolded her like a child, getting a pout from the girl who nodded and introduced herself to her new friends. Their chatting was broken off when they were called out from upfront.

"Alright Team Six and Team Seven, meet us at the back of Training Ground 42 in ten minutes." the man with a cigar in his mouth spoke before the two of their new senseis disappeared in a swirl of flames.

Sakumo looked at Naruto with a confused look, the blonde doing the same with him.

"Isn't that place like forty minutes away?" the silver haired boy finally asked getting a nod from Naruto.

"Yosh, then my youthful friends let's hurry up!" their overcharged teammate exclaimed and ran out, pulling the two behind him by their hands at blazing speeds. Naruto and Sakumo struggled to keep up with the boy, who was leaving a dust trail behind him while he ran with them in his iron grip. The two couldn't even breathe to get enough mind to pump chakra to their legs and ran solely on the strength of their muscles with their new overcharged teammate.

* * *

 **Training Ground 42**

* * *

Squad Seven was seemingly the first to arrive and the two Sarutobi's couldn't help but raise an eyebrow to the trio. Duy was not even winded and smiling to himself at reaching the location in under eight minutes, while the boys behind him were puffing out a little heavy breaths. Nothing too much but Sasuke knew they had ran solely on their muscles and smirked.

"Squad Seven…" his commanding voice called them making them stiffen and stand at attention to their new jounin sensei.

"My name is Sasuke Sarutobi and I will be your jounin sensei for the coming future, are there any questions someone would like to ask before we move on to introductions?" he asked them in his seriously lazy voice getting a raised hand from the boy with seemingly large eyebrows. He nodded and motioned for him to go on.

"Sensei, I didn't graduate from the Academy except for the taijutsu portion. Well…" his voice trailed off in embarrassment leaving two surprised teammates and a smiling Sarutobi.

"You were personally promoted and assigned to me by the Nidaime himself. So no need to worry about that. Now as for introductions I'll start with myself to set an example." he spoke with puff of his cigar and hopped onto a wooden stump and crossed his leg over his knee, taking out his cigar in his fingers to speak up.

"As you already know my name is Sasuke Sarutobi from the Sarutobi clan. I'm an elite jounin of this village and current clan head of the Sarutobi clan. My hobbies are seeing new places or interesting people, or smoking different kinds of cigars…" he said, dropping some ash to make his point and resumed. "…I do not like traitors, seafood or people that would rather waste their time than do something useful. As for my dreams, well let's just say I want you all to become fine shinobi for now." he said and all the three nodded in unison getting a small smirk on his lips at seeing his new subordinates who were now sitting cross legged. Sakumo raised his hand and Sasuke motioned for him to go on.

"Are you two related by any chance?" he asked and got a nod from Hiruzen this time who smiled seeing his sharp eyes.

"Yes, this here is my father young man." he spoke warmly making Sakumo nod and Sasuke pointed at Duy.

"Let's start with you, go on…" he spoke calmly getting a nod from the boy.

"Yosh, my name is Might Duy and I belong to a simple civilian family. I have already failed twice at the Academy…" he spoke honestly in his booming voice once more surprising his two teammates at his blunt honest answer. "…I like training and fanning the fires of my youth…" he boomed making Naruto and Sakumo sweat drop. "…I dislike wasting my time sitting around and unyouthful people…" cue another and larger sweat drop. "…and my dream is to be the greatest taijutsu master in the elemental nations and make everyone respect and know me for it." this time he made the two boys by his side smile and look at him in admiration. It was a fine goal in their eyes.

"Very nicely put Duy…" Sasuke said making the boy a little sheepish and moved his eyes to Naruto and nodded his affirmative for him to go on.

"My name is Naruto Uchiha and I'm from the Uchiha clan. I like training, spending time with my friends or exploring new places, especially nature heavy ones…" he spoke making the two Sarutobis smile at his innocent likes. "…I dislike traitors too and anyone who wishes to harm the village or my friends and family. My dream is to have my face engraved up there…" he pointed to the Hokage mountain and got a nod from Sasuke who already knew of this but Hiruzen was surprised at an Uchiha aiming for that and not for respect amongst his clan mates but stood silently.

Sasuke nodded and rose an eyebrow at seeing Hiruzen's team coming in five minutes late and were puffing as if they had run around the village to get here.

"Gomen sensei, we had to take a re-route when Jiraiya baka got into some trouble with a lady." Tsunade puffed making Hiruzen sweat drop at her blunt answer and sighed but nodded.

"Alright then go and run five rounds around the training grounds as punishment." he spoke calmly making them look up surprised before glaring at the sheepishly smiling Jiraiya and started running again. Sasuke motioned for his final genin to introduce himself.

'My name is Sakumo Hatake and I'm from the Hatake clan. I like training, especially in kenjutsu and spending time with my friends and family too. I dislike those who would try and harm my friends or the village I guess. My dream is to make my clan proud and to make a good right hand when Naruto becomes Hokage." he spoke surprising the Sarutobis to their cores. The way he had said it, it was almost as if he completely believed it would come true and the two friends bumped the side of their fists with a grin.

"Alright then let's head over to the latter part of the training ground so I can test your capabilities as a genin and see if you are worthy enough or not." he spoke, hopping down and motioning for them to follow him. The three boys followed their new senseis while Hiruzen started with the team introductions and his own test as well.

Sasuke turned around and looked at the three with a critical eye and the genin took this time to get a closer look at their new sensei. The man wore on a simple yet intimidating brown shirt with black pants and black shinobi sandals. The man had a face plate like that of Tobirama with the Leaf insignia engraved on it and had brown hair as well as narrow onyx eyes with skin that showed little of his true age. He crossed his arms and let out a puff of smoke from his mouth.

"Usually a jounin sensei is supposed to test his new team to see if they will truly become genin or be sen back to the Academy." he spoke, shocking the three who had wide eyes hearing this.

"That's why we don't have headbands yet…" Naruto spoke in realization and got a nod from Sasuke when he continued on.

"It is usually a team to test a team's teamwork and spirit of union to work together in a hidden meaning sort of test…" he spoke and took out three headbands and threw them to each of them who caught them with a surprised look on their faces.

"But I believe teamwork is built by working together in tandem, so be ready to be taught the true spirit that has made this village's foundations stand strong…" he spoke seriously getting small nods from his genin and nodded back.

"For now you three are genin, but if at any point I deem you to be unworthy be ready to be sent back to the Academy for another year." he spoke as if reading the weather and the three gave him nervous nods. The man was quite intimidating without even trying.

"Alright now listen to the first task I am assigning you seriously, I won't repeat so don't ask me if you miss something. Your first mission from me is to cover yourself in stealth and go to the part we just left, where Hiruzen's new genin team is no doubt taking their test to graduate." he spoke and got small nods of affirmative from the three who fastened their headbands, Sakumo and Naruto on their forehead while Duy tied it on his waist for comfort and each gave them a squeezing nod with a smile, feeling pride in themselves at being called true shinobis now.

"Your primary objective is to hide yourself under stealth and stay hidden from Hiruzen's three genin and observe them until they complete their task, which is to get two bells tied on Hiruzen's waist. If they do manage to obtain them, then retrieve them from the two who do have them and bring them to me yet if they do not record the observations you make during the testing they go through and write it all down in as detailed a manner as possible along with what you learnt from them in every which way. There is only one intel I wish to read, which is of utmost importance that you'll learn from them and failure to do so will result in me stripping you three of your headbands…" he said and their eyes widened though the three said nothing and just gulped nervously seeing him leaving no room for arguments and nodded hesitantly.

"Dismissed." he spoke commandingly and the three jumped into the trees while Sasuke smirked and lit up a new cigar.

" _Now let's see their worth in a real simulation test…"_ he thought and decided to let it play out for a while. The three scattered by disappearing into the trees and rushed in closer to the clearing where Hiruzen had just finished explaining the bell test to his team.

"Alright how do we do this Sakumo?" Naruto whispered to his friend while the three sat crouched on a tree branch with serious looks on their faces. Naruto knew when it came to planning and pre-determined strategies there was no one better than him.

"We split the work up in three parts…" he spoke and got nods from them. "…first of all Duy what can you do? I know of Naruto's abilities but nothing about you." he asked the boy who nodded knowing how true it was.

"Umm I'm good at throwing shurikens and kunais, and my taijutsu is pretty good…" the eccentric boy said getting two nods from his teammates who looked at him expectantly for more.

"And…?" Sakumo asked and got a shameful shake of head from the boy who looked down expecting some insult from the two geniuses on his team.

"No ninjutsu or genjutsu at all Duy?" Sakumo asked in disbelief getting a small nod from the boy who wouldn't meet their eyes out of shame making Sakumo shocked that the Hokage had promoted him with just about nothing except pure taijutsu on him. Duy felt a hand clasp his shoulder and saw Naruto's baby blue eyes look at him a bit concerned.

"Why is that Duy?" he asked the boy who looked like someone had sapped all his reserved energy in a split second.

"I have a medical condition that doesn't allow me to do so. My chakra coils are very small so I cannot perform any chakra based techniques except **Kawarimi** , since it takes so little chakra that it doesn't strain them too much…" he explained and Naruto nodded.

"That why you want to be a taijutsu master right?" he asked and got a nod from the boy, a lone tear dropping down his chin.

"I want to be respected among shinobi like everyone else even if I can't use any ninjutsu or genjutsu. I'll prove that I can be just as fine a shinobi with taijutsu alone…" he stopped when another hand clasped his shoulder and saw the two smiling teammates of his shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine. This is just a small handicap and we'll cover it. Naruto and me will cover your weaknesses so you just focus on your strengths alright?" he spoke getting a nod from Naruto.

"Yeah, Sakumo's kenjutsu skills are awesome and my Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are great. With you as our personal taijutsu specialist we'll rear past anything." he said confidently giving him his own personal thumbs up making the eccentric boy's turn wide in surprise.

"Guys…" he whispered seeing their honest eyes, his eyes breaking out with twin streams of anime tears.

"Such youth!" he exclaimed and caught the two in a bone crushing hug, literally snapping noises were heard in their ears and both squirmed for air.

"Duy…air…" Sakumo rasped out and Duy let go with a sheepish smile and smiled brightly.

"Yosh, then my youthful friend how shall we do this?" the youthful boy asked in a small whisper making their eyes turn serious.

"Alright this is how we do this..." Sakumo whispered and the two leaned in to hear their friend out and nodded confirming his plans.

 **With Hiruzen…**

Hiruzen saw his white haired genin jumping out in front of him with a proud pat of his chest.

"You're going down sensei!" the boy exclaimed loudly making Hiruzen sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose when the boy charge head on. He engaged the boy in taijutsu, as lightly as he could for the brawling boy with seemingly all taijutsu styles being cramped into one to make a make shift style he used. He knocked off their little bout by kicking the boy in his gut and throwing him back.

Jiraiya coughed and got up, looking around only to see his sensei gone and a small bell lying where he once stood making the boy grin widely.

"All the luck in the world is for me, sensei dropped this how stupid of him…" he chuckled proudly and rubbed his palms, walking closer to the bell. A second later he triggered a trap and was hanging down by his ankle and yelling curses at his sensei who picked his bell up with a tired sigh.

"Jiraiya, if the bait is too obvious and easy then don't fall for it…" he lectured the boy who crossed his arms and huffed while waving around like a pendulum by his ankle.

 **In the bushes…**

"Is that guy for real?" Sakumo asked in disbelief and got a nod from Naruto at seeing the idiocy of Jiraiya in front of him. How could someone fall for something so…

"Yosh, such a clever trap…" Duy whispered making the two face fault behind him. They caught his shoulder when he tried to go outside and pulled him back roughly.

"Aren't we supposed to get the bell? It's right…" he spoke when Sakumo clasped a hand over his mouth and all three looked up to see Hiruzen standing above their hiding position, his eyes waiting for Jiraiya to fall for it. They let the boy go and sighed in relief when he went ahead.

"Our mission is to get the bell, after they retrieve it from their sensei. Just getting a bell is pointless Duy…" Naruto explained and the boy nodded in realization at his sensei's hidden words.

"Then what do we do?" he whispered to his teammates who smirked in unison.

"A ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard…" Sakumo started. "… when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night…" Naruto continued and Duy smirked himself.

"That is the moment for a ninja to strike." the green boy completed and the three hid themselves completely in the bushes. Unaware of a smiling man, puffing out with a proud smile adorning his lips.

 **With Tsunade and Orochimaru…**

The rest of the two genins of squad six sat in their own respective hiding places, seeing their third teammate being demolished and tied to a stump by their sensei as punishment.

"Tsunade?" a voice whispered, startling the girl who looked back to see her sensible teammate crouching by her side.

"Let's join forces. Jiraiya is out for the count and there are two bells, one for each of us. With the two of us combined, it will be easy to get a bell from sensei…" he whispered getting a nod from the girl who agreed with his plan of action. She would have included Jiraiya-baka had he not gotten himself tied up already even after resenting him so much, he was still her teammate. Both started working on a new plan for themselves, having no idea what lay ahead for them in the shadows.

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : There is the next chapter. I bet no one ever would have guessed the team arrangements I made or I swear I'll cry this time :D**_

 _ **Well I don't know how you people will take it but I'll have Duy become an integral part of this team and even go above and beyond than what was portrayed in canon. So I'll read how you liked this arrangement and the overall story's review in comments and please do right any flaw you do find in my writing style and it's solution if you could. And in the upcoming chapters action will increase along with their missions as they explore the outside world with Sasuke's shadow overlooking them. So until next time, keep reading and reviewing Ja Ne ;)**_

 _ **PS : Please do not flame me for the team arrangements if you were wondering it was going to be the classic Sakumo, Naruto and Tsunade expectations. I wanted to add a new take and remember how important the Sannin were in their primes during these two wars? Well we'll explore them and create a new team of our own with the new squad seven. ;)**_


	6. First Mission

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Training Ground 42**

* * *

" _Hmm looks like Orochimaru and Tsunade have figured it all out, without knowing at all despite what they have achieved…but what are_ _ **they**_ _doing?"_ Hiruzen's thoughts trailed off in a questioning glance to the hiding spot that Squad Seven were currently residing in.

As much as he had tried to ignore them, it was blatantly obvious that they were currently plotting something. But for what, that was the question that was eating away at the younger Sarutobi right now.

 _WHIZZZ….._

His eyes glanced sharply to the side, only to raise an eyebrow at the lone kunai that had been sent his way. Did they really think so low of him that a lone kunai would…

" **Wind Style : Gale Palm."** exclaimed the voice of Orochimaru and Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock as the kunai raced at double the speed than before after being accelerated by the wind jutsu.

" _Ingenious, using only a wind style ninjutsu of C-rank to catch your opponent off guard. But still it is impressive he can use wind style at all, after all his file did say he was a primary earth style user…_ " he flicked out a kunai from his own pouch and attempted to swat away the kunai aimed straight for his waist.

The kunai swung straight in path of the oncoming projectile and Hiruzen pushed it forward expecting a clash of metals when he felt absolutely no resistance in his hands by the projectile.

" _What the-"_ his eyes widened in horror when the kunai cut through his weapon as if hot knife through butter and only now did he realize how much he had been outplayed by his prized pupil.

" _To think he has mastered his second element to such a degree already, I was right he is a genius only seen once in a century…"_ his feet moved of their own accord to move away from the weapon's path but he couldn't get away completely.

 _TING…_

The sound of jingling rang in the clearing as the younger Sarutobi slid to his right while the thread connecting the bells to his waist was cut off cleanly by Orochimaru's kunai. He pumped chakra into his feet to intercept the bells before Orochimaru made his next move.

"NOT SO FAST…" he heard a shout from above and skidded down to a halt seeing his fiery kunoichi up in mid air with her fist cocked back to bash his face in.

He merely jumped back to avoid the blow and was glad that he did.

"Hyaaa!" Tsunade came down with a battle cry and pumped her fist straight onto the floor. A web of cracks traced all around her fist before the ground fell apart and some small pieces flew up in the air making Hiruzen's eyes go wide in horror.

" _Had that fist made contact with me…"_ he shuddered thinking of what his female subordinate would do to someone who got onto her bad side.

Tsunade looked up at her stunned sensei and smirked as their eyes met. The bells came in between their gazes which were swiped off in mid air by a happy girl who grinned at her success cheekily.

"Oi Orochi, catch!" she chirped up to her teammate who caught the bell, jumping by her side to see a warmly smiling Hiruzen.

"We have completed your test sensei, the bells our ours so do we pass?" Orochimaru asked and got a nod from Hiruzen. He opened his mouth to give them an explanation as to the true meaning of this test before he pursed them closed and glanced sharply to the side.

* * *

 **Meanwhile with Squad Seven…**

* * *

"Alright then, is my plan clear to you two?" Sakumo whispered and got two nods from his squad mates.

"Hai!" "Yosh!" came the two whispers from his teammates crouching by his side as they waited to initiate their chance for the plan to start.

They watched on as Orochimaru made his move and they were impressed by his sneaky mind and a nice set of skills.

"He's good…" Sakumo whispered and both his teammates nodded, trying to gather as much as they could about them while they were at it.

" _Hyaaa_ _!_ _"_ they watched on as Tsunade shattered the ground itself with her brute strength making Sakumo and Duy's eyes go akin to those of saucers.

"That's my Tsuna alright…" Naruto snickered silently in his sleeve, watching Hiruzen's horrified expression and his smirking friend while his friend's were watching him incredulously. The blonde was oblivious to their stares and their attention snapped back to the field when they heard the familiar jingle of the bells.

"Scatter!" Sakumo whispered and both his teammates blurred out into the trees to take their positions in a split second, trying to remain as silent as they could for a ambush all the while.

* * *

 **Now…**

* * *

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed in when his vision suddenly started getting misty and he looked around to see a heavy sheen of mist settling in the open clearing. The lake was too far away, so there was no way someone was doing it out of a water style ninjutsu…

" _Genjutsu…"_ he surmised and closed his eyes to gather up all his chakra into his coils and let out a small short burst to dispel it. Sure enough, the illusionary mist disappeared in a second and he saw his students flicking out kunais and looking around frantically.

He had to admit the genjutsu was quite subtle, it wasn't a heavily ranked one so it wasn't as easily detectable as the higher ones had you not had the analytical skills and experience he possessed or you knew there was a genjutsu user a midst your surroundings.

" _Clever…"_ he had to admit the thoughtfulness of the genin who had casted it ever so subtly. It was clearly not meant for a ninja as high ranking as him. So it was clearly for the other two by his sides, and clearly it was working as the two hadn't realized being trapped into it quite yet.

Contrary to popular belief, genjutsu was a branch that wasn't at all affected by how highly ranked your technique is. It is affected by the purely subtle execution and depends on the mind of the user to see how and when does he choose to cast his illusions so his opponents don't realize they are trapped in it. It is for these reasons that it is considered the most weak and the most lethal of the shinobi arts for assassinations.

If the user **isn't** skilled enough, the enemy can dispel it subtly without the caster ever realizing it and kill the sneaking shinobi easily since genjutsu users are primarily long distance fighters, preferring to fight from the shadows.

But, and this was a large but, the user **was** skilled enough, the enemy would be assassinated without him ever even realizing he was killed until the killing blow had been made and the target had passed on to the afterlife.

He flickered away into the trees to see what this was all about, and step in if need be.

"What are they doing?" he asked to the man by his side, who merely puffed on his cigar with narrowed eyes on the two subordinates assigned to his son.

"Just watch." he stated firmly and Hiruzen knew better than to argue with the man, so he crossed his arms and sat down on the branch to see what it was that his father had planned for his own team.

Orochimaru looked around, clearly not at all happy by this obstacle to his vision trying to sight whoever had casted this. Tsunade too knew this was no ordinary mist, it was spring so natural mist setting in Konoha's open clearings at this time of the year was a big NO.

Orochimaru heard a slight rustle from his side and sent a hail of shurikens in the bushes. His ears picked up on the sound of his metal stars clacking with wood and knew he had missed but one thing was clear to him, there certainly was someone targeting them.

He heard another rustle of leaves from a tree and launched a hail of his kunai reserves at the target, once more only managing to hit an empty bark.

Whoever it was, was certainly quite smart. Tsunade too was now peeling her ears sharply to hear but wasn't having any success at it.

"The boy is smart…" Sasuke mumbled from the side in a calculative voice and Hiruzen couldn't help but nod in amazement. To any lesser shinobi, it would look as if Orochimaru had gone bananas. But to him, it was clear as a day that he wasn't hitting at thin air as it was seeming to the spectators of the fight.

"To think he can cast a double layer genjutsu to hinder his sense of sound as well without even alerting him of the first one setting on him. It is quite too much as is expected from a boy his age…" Hiruzen mumbled, rubbing his chin in contemplation and Sasuke merely let his lips twitch upwards at the faraway voice of his son.

"Well it isn't that it is unexpected for an Uchiha to use genjutsu…" he added his own too cents and Hiruzen nodded hesitantly.

"True enough…" Hiruzen spoke, but the uncertainty in his voice wasn't lost to Sasuke who knew what the man was thinking after raising him by his own two hands for so long. He was comparing his own prized pupil with his squad members to measure up how he fared against them. Well he was in for a surprise then…

"Orochimaru reached into his pouch to target the rustling noise again but his eyes widened when he caught nothing but thin air.

" _I'm out of supplies-Oh Kami, how could I have been so stupid_ _!_ _"_ the pale skinned boy cursed inwardly realizing their plan only just now. They weren't trying to sneak up on him, they were luring him in to launch his weapons again and again until he was completely out of them.

And he had fallen right into it.

* * *

 **With Tsunade…**

* * *

With her teammates or sensei nowhere in sights, she knew she was all on her own. And this mist was frankly annoying her. But there was something wrong with it, for if this was a water style mist then was why the air still so dry?

Her honey brown eyes narrowed in thought as she racked her mind to put two and two together.

"She's realizing it, the bluff is over-" Hiruzen's voice was cut off by that of his mother mid way.

"Not quite." he stated flatly, as if it were a fact on it's own. If he had known anything from Tobirama's praise of the boy, it was that if he had his target trapped within his illusions he won't let her go that easily.

"Hehehehe…." a sinister chuckle ran throughout the area surrounding the lone kunoichi who stiffened and looked around frantically with a kunai clutched tightly in her hands.

"Who's there? Show yourself coward!" she shouted loudly, only for the chuckles to deepen in mirth much to her own ire.

"The standards for kunoichi sure have fallen these days…" the voice spoke in chuckles, booming from everywhere to make it impossible for her to locate her target. "…I think they are handing out graduates as cannon fodder to the real world. A pathetic girl like you, will be dead today before she even reaches home." the voice snickered evilly, a full blown scowl marred Tsunade's face while she was fuming at the blunt insults silently.

"Hmm, maybe I shouldn't hurt that pretty little face of yours, it's the only thing you're good for anyways-" the voice could only say so much before being interrupted by the irritated kunoichi.

"Who the hell do you think you are you teme? Come out here so I can show you what I really can do…" she shouted angrily, her temper getting the better of her while she shook in pure fury. If there was one thing Tsunade resented, it was if someone undermined her skills because she was a girl.

 _WHIZZZ…_

Tsunade hopped back, a shuriken embedding into the ground where she stood previously and skid back with a scowl.

"Why you-" she hissed angrily, only for another sound to hit her ears.

 _WHIZZZ…WHIZZZ…_

She hopped back again, only for another shuriken to dart into her previous position before repeating said situation again for the third time.

 _WHIZZZ…_

A barrage of kunai's were aimed at her from up front, only for her to try and step back. Her eyes widened when she hit the bark of a tree with her back and looked to the left to see another tree blocking her path.

That only left one choice. She pumped chakra into her soles and jumped to the right quickly, flipping sideways in a flexible maneuver before skidding on her knees to a halt from her frantic jump. She scowled at the cowardly attacks from the shadows, as if mere kunais and shurikens thrown like this would take her out…

 _SNAP…_

Her eyes looked down upon hearing the strange voice from the ground underneath her feet. A purely innocent confusion flickered in her eyes for a second, only for her eyes to widen when a small patch of the ground gave way under…

"OH DAMN-" she shouted and tried to jump back but didn't get the required support from the collapsing ground underneath her feet. She fell down in a loud heap and a dust cloud peered over the edges of the now, out in the open pit.

Sasuke chuckled and Hiruzen face palmed hearing a loud groan echoing within the large pit while shaking his head with a sigh.

"The good old pit traps never get old now do they Hiru?" Sasuke asked humorously, not expecting an answer and didn't get one as it is. It was quit embarrassing for a shinobi to be caught in a pit trap of all things, but even he had to say it was quite a clever plan.

"Your kunoichi has quite a temper and my genin took whole advantage of it…" Sasuke mumbled while trailing off at the end to see Naruto jumping down and walking over to the pit, with his Sharingan blazing in all it's glory. He rose an eyebrow as did Hiruzen when the boy jumped down into the pit, making it not possible for them to see what it was that the boy was doing.

Hiruzen meanwhile couldn't help but surmise all that he had since his last little comment about the blonde boy's tactics. As soon as Tsunade was beginning to realize something was wrong he had detected her slight hesitation and trapped her in another layer of illusion, of some kind of a hearing one as he had seen Tsunade shout out curses to thin air while they hadn't heard as much as a slight whisper from the trees around her.

It was indeed quite impressive that he had taken advantage of her temper to throw her logical reasoning out the window by using her fiery temper against her and leading her onto his already primed trap by using his skills at shurikenjutsu to lead her to the pit by accurately guessing her each and every move with his Sharingan and finally leaving her nowhere to go but on top of the pit by cornering her perfectly into a three way closed corner.

"But what does he intend to do now, isn't it quite reckless to go and take on a trapped kunoichi with the kind of strength she has, in a pit of all places at that…" Hiruzen asked getting a careless shrug from his father and he sweat dropped at the lazy gesture by the man.

"He must have something planned for it, let's wait and see ne? Or we might ruin the surprise…" Sasuke spoke wisely and Hiruzen couldn't help but envy the confidence his father already had in his genin. It was like he was trusting him enough to pull off anything, and he hadn't even been with them a whole day for Kami's sake.

* * *

 **In the pit…**

* * *

Naruto jumped down in the hole, crouching on his knees to absorb the impact and looked around to see Tsunade sitting up while finally regaining her senses. She blinked seeing the familiar pair of crimson eyes in honest confusion.

A palm cupped her right cheek tenderly, his thumb stroking it while his eyes held a worried expression in them.

"Are you okay?" his soft voice whispered making her lean into his hand and nod with a little smile. She closed her eyes, taking in the tender touch happily with a sigh.

"My head hurt like hell kuso, but I'm fine…" she mumbled in a dizzy voice, getting a relieved smile from Naruto.

"That damned teme who attacked me is so dead for making me fall into this hell forbidden pit. My head and butt hurt like hell, I'm going to beat him to pulp now that you are here Naru…" she mumbled angrily, while smiling happily that he was here towards the end. He merely smiled, but Tsunade was a little peeved by the sadness still laced in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Tsuna…" he whispered sadly, much to her confusion while she still enjoyed his tender touch over her right cheek by nuzzling it in his palm with a smile.

"What are you-" her confused voice trailed off, while her eyes misted over and became half lidded when she stared into the slowly spinning tomoes in his eyes.

Her body went limp and he caught her in his arms in a warm hug, kissing her head gently while sighing tiredly when she fell completely unconscious in a dream he had casted in her mind with his eyes.

Just as he had expected, she hadn't so much as suspected that he was the one who had been in the shadows and leading her on until the very last moment. Not that he had expected her to anyways…, it was what had made him so confident to deal with her all by himself without any fright of hurting her too much in the process.

"I'm so sorry Tsu-hime…" he whispered while his eyes reverted back to their baby blue counterparts and he plopped down on his butt, pulling her onto his lap to let her sleep until his teammates were done. He hated using her trust within him like that, but it had to be done after all he didn't want her to get hurt fighting them all head on like the hard headed devil she was when riled up.

"Naru umm…" she mumbled sleepily, he smiled and rubbed her shoulder making the girl snuggle her face in his neck with a sleepy smile, with no worried of the conscious world. She always slept like a log no matter what…

"Baka…" he snickered softly at the soundly sleeping girl, who he would have to apologize to later on for hurting her like this and trapping her so easily by using her trust in him. No doubt she would throw a tantrum and try to hit him with all her might before he dodged them all and let her vent it all out…

He sighed, she could be such a handful…

* * *

 **Meanwhile with Orochimaru…**

* * *

The boy was confused as hell, he couldn't see a thing in this unnaturally thick mist. Whoever was holding such a wide spread water style jutsu for so long, over such a wide are had to have a lot of chakra and experience.

Which meant high chunin at the very least…

The clearing was now silent. Much too silent. And he didn't like that one bit…

A green blur stepped in front of him in the flicker of a second, his eyes widening at being so outclassed in detecting his presence until the very last moment.

Though his yellow slitted eyes narrowed in on hi enemy that was now in front of him dangerously, his feet splitting apart in a readying stance to go on the offense.

His fist cocked back and swiftly made way for his opponent's face, whose face was completely wrapped up by an orange scarf with only his eyes visible to him, and those too barely.

He smirked when his fist was about to make contact quite smugly at seeing his non suspecting face, no doubt his own vision was hindered too with this thick mist…

His eyes widened in shock when he hit nothing but thin air…

" _Impossible_ _!_ _He couldn_ _'t have seen my swift attack without at least dodging it with all this hindrance to vision. But where did he go, how could he just vanish-"_ a sole connected under his chin with a harsh smacking sound ringing throughout the clearing. He was launched up like a rocket from a bottle and flew up with a hacking cough, the illusion now broken to make his vision quite clear from the experience of pain he had just had.

" _The_ _ **Dancing Leaf Shadow**_ _which means he would now follow up from under me…"_ he surmised, focusing his vision back completely and glanced back to see nothing but the ground under him leaving him quite baffled.

A blunt object made contact with his forehead roughly with quite a punch pumped into the blow, roaring him down towards the ground at blurring speeds.

"Ack-" he coughed out, his body making contact with the ground in a crunching noise and his slitted eyes rolled back into his head while the sweet whisper of unconsciousness took over him.

Sakumo landed down onto the ground on one knee with Duy coming by his side and poking the unconscious boy with a stick to make sure he was out lest he needed another smack to his head.

Sakumo sweat dropped asking him if he wasn't being unyouthful by acting unconscious but smiled at their perfect execution.

"Will Naruto be alright? That youthful girl had quite a lot of strength in her taijutsu, he should have let me go…" Duy asked worriedly when they saw no sign of their third teammate and Sakumo merely smiled and shook his head.

"No, Naruto was our best bet to take down Tsunade swiftly and silently. He knows quite closely so he had the advantage of knowing everything about her while not knowing he 0was the one who was attacking her. Plus, he wouldn't have let either of us try to fight her anyways…" he mumbled the lat part as an afterthought much to the confusion of the green clothed boy, who wrapped his scarf back around his neck like usual and tied it up.

"Why is that?" Duy asked curiously getting a sigh from Sakumo.

"Because we might have hurt her in the process, that is something Naruto won't let happen if he has anything to say about it…" he spoke sagely, confusing the youthful boy even more and Sakumo waved his hand dismissively to let the topic drop for now. "…it's their own thing, just leave it at that." he said and Duy nodded hesitantly while Sakumo put two of his fingers in his mouth and took a deep breath.

 _FEWHHH…._

Naruto's ears perked up upon hearing the classic whistle tune of Sakumo and he stood up, settling Tsunade comfortably in his arms bridal style, only for her to cuddle up in his arms like an infant and mumble about disturbing her so much.

His lips twitched upwards in amusement, and he looked up over to the edge of the pit. Channeling chakra to his feet, he jumped up and out of the hole to make his way to the rest of his team.

Sasuke and Hiruzen sat contemplatively while watching Duy move in to confront Orochimaru. Hiruzen's eyes widened when he saw the eccentric boy go in for the kill with a move that surely would leave some lasting damage to his pupil. His wrist was caught before he could though, and he looked on at his father only to see the man having his eyes fixed on the fight and followed his gaze.

He was surprised to see Duy end his technique halfway and Sakumo came flying off from a tree and loomed straight over an unsuspecting Orochimaru with his sword held in both his hands over his head. He brought the weapon down, smashing it's hilt with Orochimaru's forehead and Hiruzen winced when the boy landed in a head of dust but he did sigh in relief that the damage had been contained at a lot less than what it could have been.

Both Sarutobi's watched Sakumo whistle and a few moments later, Naruto walked in with a sleeping Tsunade curled in his arms without a care in the world. Both pair of eyebrows shot up and they wondered how it was that the boy had managed to pull that off without even a scratch over Tsunade.

The cigar smoking man jumped down from his branch and walked out to confront his students who were swiping off the bells from the unconscious genins.

"You done?" all three members of Squad Seven spun around hearing a voice from behind them only to see Sasuke standing there with crossed arms with a raised eyebrow.

The three nodded in unison and Duy stepped forward with the bells in one hand and a rolled up scroll in the other.

"Yosh! Mission accomplished sensei!"the boy boomed in excitement, handing the man the two items who nodded curtly in return while taking them off his hands.

"Just one scroll of intel? You would have more chances with more scrolls…" Sasuke piped in to the three genin who shook their heads in unison yet again.

"No sensei, that intel is perfect. We trust in Sakumo…" Naruto chimed in by placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. Sasuke glanced at Duy only to see a sparkling smile with a classic nice guy pose being given to him and he nodded, throwing the bells back to Naruto and unfurling the scroll to read it.

His eyes scanned it's contents quickly in a well-mannered way, while Hiruzen made his way to see what was going on just as Sasuke ended his going through of the intel provided by his team.

He looked up, blowing out a cloud of smoke and nodded to them.

"You all pass." he spoke, and the three cheered as their hyper excited teammate pulled them in for a bone crunching hug.

"For now, I may as well send you back to the Academy if I deem it so…" he added, but the three didn't quite hear him and he flickered away before handing the scroll to his son who let the curiosity get the better of him and decided to read what was it that was written in the scroll.

His eyebrows rose in surprise as it had all the flaws and weaknesses that they had witnessed in the fight along with how it could have been better used, had they minded their surrounding a bit better. But it was the last line that made a feeling of pride swell up even within him.

* * *

 _Squad Six could have done a lot better had they pooled their resources together like we did._

 _-Squad Seven_

* * *

He smiled seeing them checking on Orochimaru to see if he was alright and place him under the shade of a tree. Naruto sat under another tree with his teammates joining him in to have a chat.

"Well that was easy as a bell…" Sakumo remarked dryly to get a chuckle out of Naruto at the irony of the saying while Duy boomed another round of his youth.

Tsunade wriggled on Naruto's lap, her eyes flickering as her consciousness started kicking in. She let out a small yawn, only to blink at the smiling face of Naruto before she tried to remember how it was that she had gotten here.

She let her eyes narrow in on the blonde as she started to piece together everything and looked at him dangerously.

"You attacked me?" she stated more than asked and he said nothing, merely letting his lips fall down from their smile.

"Why?" she asked and he looked down with a sad gaze falling upon his eyes.

"We were given a mission by our sensei to take the bells from you two as soon as you got them. I volunteered to take you down…" he explained and got a nod from Tsunade who knew why he must have done so. She would have done the same had she been in his shoes, but that wasn't the point.

"So you used my trust on you?" she asked accusingly and he nodded shamefully, it was the truth after all. His teammates decided on doing the intelligent thing and stayed silent on the sidelines so as to not incur her wrath upon them.

"I didn't want you to get hurt…" he spoke softly, his voice wavering at the thought of her hating him for this after seeing this as only an excuse. Her eyes softened and she placed her head back on his shoulder with a small yawn.

"Don't do it again…" she mumbled sleepily, fisting her eyes off them and Naruto smiled. He gave her a squeeze for reassurance and felt happy when she cuddled up for a nap in his arms.

"I won't…" he whispered, she smiled and nodded joyfully while wrapping her arms around his chest to let her eyes droop into a small nap. He let out a yawn himself upon feeling the breeze whiz past his hair causing the silky locks to flail with them and laid his own cheek on her head with a little smile.

"Don't wake me up…" the kunoichi mumbled to the two of them, getting a dumb nod from Duy while both drifted off into the world of dreams. Sakumo fell down on his back and crossed his arms behind his head, only to yawn as he too felt the soft breeze hit his hair and smiled.

"Are they always like this?" Duy finally asked, pointing to the cuddled up blondes with his finger and a completely baffled expression marred on his face. Sakumo shrugged carelessly and turned his face the other way, which the boy took as a yes and decided to let his youth be refilled by taking a nap with his much too youthful and new friends.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

* * *

"Oi! Where is everyone? Sensei, Orochi-teme, flat chest… YOU FORGOT TO UNTIE ME DAMN IT DIDN'T YOU…" Jiraiya shouted…still tied up to the stump and seemingly forgotten.

 _Coo…Coo…Swish..._

An imaginary breeze flew past him, while the birds cooed in unison as if to mock him and he gritted his teeth.

" _I knew I shouldn't have slept through the_ _ **Rope Escape Jutsu**_ _class…"_ he cursed his luck and pulled out the kunai stuck in his sandals and started knawing the rope by the kunai held between the soles of his feet….quite slowly….

* * *

 **Hokage Office**

* * *

Tobirama didn't even glance up when Sasuke flickered into his room, having already sensed the man coming from quite a long way.

"How did they do?" he asked stoically, stamping another paper loudly and putting it on the growing piles of completed paperwork.

"Squad Seven passed with flying colors…" Sasuke spoke, the pride laced in his voice not lost to Tobirama who let his stamp take a rest and finally looked up to see his old friend plop down on his couch. His eyes narrowed in on the cigar in his mouth and he brought his fingers up near his cheek.

 _SNAP…_

With a snap of his fingers, the cigar's light died down in a hiss of smoke making Sasuke frown and look at him with a look of annoyance at seeing his damp cigar.

"You should lessen up on those…" he stated in a voice as emotionless as his normal ones, yet sounded scolding to Sasuke who huffed and threw it away but didn't light another one for the time being.

"You saw it all didn't you?" Sasuke asked and Tobirama remained silent, merely crossing his fingers in front of his mouth with his eyes fixated on the senior Sarutobi's.

"Kagami taught that boy to be something else, he may very well surpass him soon if his skills at genjutsu I saw earlier were anything to go by…" Sasuke pointed out, getting a curt nod from Tobirama having figured the same thing himself.

"How did Tsunade do?" he asked, and Sasuke frowned. He looked at the man accusingly which was met with the same dead eyes of our ever stoic Senju…he sighed in relent.

"She passed too, her strength is scary…" he mumbled with a shiver running down his spine, remembering the state of the ground she had punched with her bare fist and how much she could improve on that. This time Tobirama let a ghost of a smirk appear on his face. She really would be a menace to all the boys who would dare to approach her when she grew up, he would have to do a lot of paperwork for those beaten up guys…after beating them up himself.

"You know they included included Duy in their group too…" Sasuke spoke in a warm tone, remembering the bonding he had seen between the three. It made him swell in pride that an orphaned boy with handicaps such as his was so readily accepted by his peers as if he were their long lost friend.

"I chose his team, considering that. The boy was ready last year, but each squad would have rejected his positives and merely focused on his handicaps to belittle him. It would have hurt his dignity, teamwork can be built upon with time, but mutual respect and bonds are the things that this village was envisioned to have when we built the foundation of three man squads for genins." Tobirama pointed out and Sasuke plopped back with a smile, this was why he respected his friend as a Hokage. Never one to back off from taking the harsh decisions, but much too mindful when it came down to the little things that no one ever bothered to see so closely.

"You thought it out quite thoroughly huh?" the brown haired man asked and Tobirama nodded, standing up and looking past the window with his hands behind his back to see the village he had sworn to protect with his life.

"Teams are an important part of a shinobi's life. Each member must complement the other and hide his weaknesses and try and bring about his strength when it is needed. No one shinobi is perfect, this is why I had the system of teams put in the first place. If Duy were to work alone, he would not survive a day in the shinobi world as he is, but with friends and squad members to back him up, I envision his potential to be quite a lot, just as much as his two teammates." he spoke calmly, getting a nod from Sasuke who got up and cracked his neck to go home for the day.

"Well I'll see you tomorrow then, let's see them take on missions and let their team be bonded completely before they are ready to go all out in the world on their own." Sasuke flickered out, leaving a silent Tobirama behind who was smiling while thinking of the new shinobi just added to his forces.

He had a hunch these two teams would be quite a sight to behold in the incoming future.

* * *

 **Next Morning**

* * *

 **Uchiha Clan compounds at four in the morning…**

* * *

 _KNOCK…KNOCK…_

Naruto pulled up his blanket to muffle away the annoying noise disturbing his sleep.

 _KNOCK…KNOCK…_

"Kami…" the blonde mumbled, getting up with a tired yawn and half lidded eyes. His eyes turned to the window and then to the clock hanging in his room too see it was still an hour from daybreak.

 _KNOCK…KNOCK…_

He put his head in his blanket with a groan, he was still so sleepy. He got up after relenting to whoever it was that must want to see him at this time and walked down his stairs to the main door. He opened it slowly after unlocking it with the key.

"Welcome to the Uchiha…residence…" he spoke in a yawn, covering his mouth and blinked sleepily to see the dazzling smile of Might Duy.

"YOSH…" Naruto winced, clasping his mouth before the boy could boom any further and wake up half the Uchiha clan who would no doubt be quite happy and show him their prowess over the Fire element this morning.

"Duy keep it down, it's…four…" he spoke with another yawn making the boy give him a thumbs up which was ignored by the sleepy boy.

"EXACTLY…" Naruto clasped his mouth again making him look like a duck and sighed.

"Be quiet." he said calmly and the boy nodded with his mouth forming an 'O'. only now did Naruto looked at the half dead looking Sakumo leaning behind him as if he would die any moment.

"Sakumo?" Naruto called out to the boy, who opened his left eye, still leaning on the youthful boy to keep him standing.

"He came to my house first, my father threw me out…literally… saying to take this loud speaker with me and let him sleep…" Sakumo mumbled in annoyance and Naruto would have laughed at his expense had he not been so sleepy himself. He turned his eyes back to the wide awake boy who was looking at him quite intently.

"What do you want with us at this time Duy?" Naruto finally asked, his patience running thin. He regretted it a moment later though when he saw the fire light up in the boy's eyes and he caught his wrist in his iron grip.

"Duy Wh-AHH" he shouted when he was pulled out along with Sakumo like a rag doll by their fired up teammate.

"This is the perfect time for an early morning jog…" he boomed making their eyes widen in horror.

"BUT IT'S NOT EVEN MORNING YET…" both shouted in unison which the boy didn't hear and started their morning jog, which wasn't a jog as much as a full speed sprint.

"YOSH, THAT MAKES IT MUCH MORE YOUTHFUL. LET THE POWER OF YOUTH EXPLODE…" he boomed loud and the two behind him knew it was out of their hands now. Kiara let out a yawn seeing her master disappear in a cloud of smoke and went in while closing the door behind her with her tail. She had the time to sleep…

* * *

 **Four Hours later…**

* * *

 **Naka River**

* * *

Sasuke Sarutobi strolled onto the porch of their meeting point and rose an eyebrow at the sight before him.

Naruto and Sakumo were on the ground…, sprawled face first and barely breathing while Duy was giving them his classic nice guy pose.

"Duy, what happened to them?" he asked, not expecting to see his two subordinates half dead so early in the morning.

"Yosh sensei, I took them for an early morning jog to stroke their flames of youth…" the boy boomed happily and Sasuke sighed, he had an idea of where this was heading. "…but I seemed to have stroked them too much, they are barely flickering now sensei.." the boy mumbled in a serious voice with a sagely nod. He chuckled and nodded, well they were prepped for the day then…

"Alright you two, up you go…" he picked them up and dusted the two off who gathered up their minds and energies recovered to smile at their sensei.

"Let's go and get our first mission…" he spoke and bright smiles lit up their faces.

"Damn that's cool, what do you thin we'd get Naruto? I bet we are going to go scout out enemy borders…" Sakumo spoke excitedly as Sasuke led them to the Mission's office.

"Nah I bet we would be protecting some Daimyo or princess from dangerous thugs and stuff…" he spoke his own thoughts, crossing his arms behind his head and Sasuke shook his head in amusement hearing their dreams. Oh, the joys of being a sensei…

* * *

 **Mission's office…**

* * *

"You are going to go to a nearby village and haul the crates containing our food supplies and record all entries back to the village. Squad Seven, I expect this to be done by the end of the day…" Tobirama's voice rang through the room and an imaginary breeze blew in the room as his genins stared at him blankly.

"This is a joke right?" Sakumo asked in disbelief, getting a blank stare from Tobirama that made him feel quite stupid.

"But Ji-chan, we are shinobi right?" Naruto asked in confusion and Tobirama nodded curtly without a word, well this was the most interesting time of the year for him each time seeing these baffled faces of genin who came to him expecting assassination missions.

"You are shinobi indeed, but what did you think you'd get? You are untried with no past records, which client in their right mind would want to hire you for a job?" he asked and got sheepish smiles from all three who now saw his point.

"These simple missions are assigned to each new squad to get them used to their teammates out in the field while the jounin sensei fine tunes their teamwork before I move on to give you serious missions. But these aren't as simple as chores mind you, you must record the crates, put them over to the cart to carry them and then pull it back to the village and rearrange them at our warehouses. You may very well be attacked by bandits out there, so do not take any mission lightly." he scolded the three who nodded and Sasuke took the scroll with a smirk. He knew it was ridiculous, after all who would want to steal rice and wheat sacks right now. But it wouldn't be easy to get it done by the end of the day, that much he knew.

"Alright team let's get to it." Sasuke clapped and the three nodded and followed their teacher out.

* * *

 **On the edges of the assigned village…**

* * *

"Ahh, there's the warehouse you are to empty and haul the contents back to the village…" Sasuke pointed out a building in the distance and their eyes widened in shock.

"Sensei…" Sakumo gulped nervously and pointed a shaky finger at the warehouse far into the distance. "…how far is that?" he asked nervously, hoping he was wrong and Sasuke shrugged.

"Twenty miles give or take…" he surmised and Naruto looked horrified at his sensei.

"But that looks five stories high already, how are we supposed to haul everything in that back to the village by the end of the day?" Naruto asked incredulously and Sasuke smirked.

"Why do you think the Hokage assigned shinobi to do a civilian's job then? He needs them back, and he needs them now. Well time is ticking, get to it…" he said and Duy smiled brightly.

"Yosh my youthful friends let's not waste any more time. We shall do it by the end of lunch time, if we cannot them we will climb the Hokage monument by tying one arm behind our back." Duy boomed and both his teammates sighed and face palmed.

"Only you Duy, only you…" Naruto whispered tiredly and ran off to follow his eccentric teammate who was leaving a trail of dust behind him with Sakumo behind his blonde friend.

* * *

 **At the warehouse…**

* * *

"Well…shit…" Sakumo whistled in amazement seeing the huge warehouse. It was filled to the brim with crates the size of their own and a cart that could handle twenty of them. With the village thirty minutes from here, they would be able to make only about twenty hauls. And that was at speeds when they were jumping through trees…

"Sakumo, there's no way we can do this by sun down. I think sensei and Ji-chan have lost it…" Naruto said bluntly and Sakumo sweat dropped at his answer.

"Yosh, don't say such unyouthful words Naruto. Nothing's impossible until the moment we say it is, it's just a matter of finding a way to do it right…" he said jovially and both his teammates smiled feeling their spirits ignite themselves.

"So you have a plan then Duy?" Naruto asked hopefully and smiled seeing him give him a thumbs up with a nice guy pose.

"Of course not…" he boomed and the blonde fell comically on his face. "…that's what we have Sakumo for." he boomed and this time the silver haired one fell on his face.

Sakumo sighed and ran fingers through his hair, racking his mind while looking at the large warehouse calculatingly.

"Naruto you have ninja wire right?" he asked, rubbing his chin in thought and Naruto nodded. "Yeah I always keep it with me you know it already." the boy answered matter of factedly and Sakumo nodded, thinking of taking advantage of his teammate's shurikenjutsu now. His eyes turned to a lone crate to the side and he turned to Duy.

"Duy will you kick it please?" he asked in a voice that meant business and Duy hit the crate with a strengthened kick making it skid quite a far away. Sakumo nodded to himself and looked up at all the roped heavily tying the crates together that they had to open and smiled. Naruto and Duy smiled themselves knowing he had a plan and Sakumo finally nodded.

"Alright here's what we'll do. Naruto you start building some zip-ways with your ninja wires and line them up straight to the carts over there…" Sakumo pointed to the three carts and Naruto nodded seeing no problem with it.

"I'll cut off all the ropes with my sword and free the crates of their bindings before Duy takes over and kicks them all on to the zip-ways you create to make them slide straight to the carts." he said and Duy nodded with a smile himself,seeing no problem with it.

"Finally Naruto can calculate how to arrange them perfectly and I'll do the documenting and then we'll all three pull the carts together." he said and all three nodded in unison and scattered without a word to get on their jobs.

Naruto smirked activating his Sharingan and pulling out a roll of high grade wire before putting it's end between his teeth.

 _SLING…_

He pulled it down and started to get it into his kunais before darting them all around the room in a spider web like pattern with the utmost precision that would look like a mismatched pattern to most but to discerning eyes like his own it was the finest way possible for what Sakumo had in mind.

Sakumo pulled out his sword and looked up at the several piles of crates tied with thick roped all around them and jumped up, cleaving through the bindings expertly and blurring through his swings to do it as quickly as possible

Duy smirked and tightened his leg warmers and weights hidden under them before smirking and looking at the beelines Naruto had gotten ready while he was building layers upon layers more to accommodate them all while marking his kicking points with shurikens.

"YOSH…" he boomed and his sole made contact with a crate that was now completely free before it slung down on the wire and straight down the net of wire.

Sakumo came in, expecting them to be cursing about their backs while hauling crates only for his cigar to drop from his mouth in shock when he saw crates coming down left and right on metallic thin wires straight onto the carts while three blurs were going about all around the room.

"Sensei move it…" the three shouted and he side stepped when they raced past him while pulling the hand carts loaded with crates behind them and ran back to the village.

He smiled a moment later and decided to just let them be for now since they didn't seem like needing his help. It was a three day job but in truth but Tobirama had only given them to test their resolves and see how quickly they could get it done. Looks like he was in for a surprise.

* * *

 **Back in the village…**

* * *

The guards at the gate rose an eyebrow seeing the three genin with large carts filled to the brim being pulled behind them while they whisked past them and straight to the village's storage warehouses in a jiffy. The three genin pulled their carts over at the warehouse and started putting crates back in their places and opened up their lids to count the number of sacks in them.

"9 wheat here Sakumo…" Naruto shouted and Sakumo jotted it down in a scroll.

"8 rice here my friend…" Duy shouted from his place and the boy jotted it down with them continuing the cycle for all the crates before pulling back their crates hurriedly towards the warehouse where their sensei was waiting and looking after for.

* * *

 **A couple of hours after sun down…**

* * *

"7 soy here Sakumo…" Naruto called out with a heavy breath, wiping off his forehead with his sleeve.

"8 sugar here…" Duy panted, sweat dripping off his nose and his hands put over his knees. Sakumo nodded, rubbing his tired eyes before jotting it all down in the scroll that was nearing it's limit as to what more he could write in it.

"Alright next?" he asked out loud and watched both his teammates look around them.

"I'm done, all documented and done here…" Naruto spoke with a wave of his hands.

"Me too Sakumo, it's all done here too…" Duy waved and Sakumo smiled a tired smile and nodded, putting a full stop with the three of them signing it's end and going out.

Sasuke sat outside on a cement pipe, and lit up another cigar to see his three genin coming to them, and took in their appearances that were in the moonlight now. Each of their clothes had several tatters along with scratches and little splintered scratches all over them. Their eyes were red, no doubt tired and he could see their shaking hands from pure exhaustion. They looked as if someone had dropped a small house on them.

"Sensei mission completed." Sakumo spoke up, handing him the scroll for documentation of supplies that Sasuke took and knew the three were on their last legs now.

"Alright well done, take a breather here. Sit down." he spoke and the three were more than happy to oblige. Sasuke waited for the inevitable and smiled when they leaned on each other and started dozing off. He created three clones and picked the boys up ordering them to take them home before flickering away himself.

* * *

 **Hokage Office**

* * *

Tobirama sipped his cup of tea, waiting for the last team to report back before he went home and looked up when Sasuke came into his office. Though he did raise an eyebrow when the smoking man put a small scroll on his desk.

"Mission completed, Squad Seven reporting in." he spoke in his business voice and Tobirama's eyes widened momentarily.

"You can't be serious?" he asked incredulously, only to meet the serious eyes of his close friend and he looked on at the scroll in front of him in surprise.

His hands flicked it open expertly and scanned it quickly, to find it all done neatly and precisely just like he liked it and looked up.

"Did you help them?" he asked, trying to make sense of the situation and got a shake of the head from his friend.

"Nope it was all them, you should have seen them. Never seen someone use the shinobi arts to haul crates like they did, it was like a mass production factory there. Only instead of machines there were three blurs of golden, silver and green." Sasuke chuckled over his own words and Tobirama leaned forward in interest, pulling out two saucer cups and a bottle of Sake.

"Have a seat, this is something I have to hear to believe." he spoke

, offering the man a chair who was more than happy for it and Tobirama poured in the liquid as Sasuke started his tale. Needless to say, Tobirama was impressed and decided to add in a bonus, a good chunk at that from the village to get it done so quickly and efficiently.

His hunch didn't seem too far off now that he thought about it.

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : There is the next chapter in my small tale. Their first missions and fights as a team. Next time will be their first real fights against shinobis and how their teamwork fares out in the real world while the three start to deal with the real horrors of the world and get a glimpse at the aftermath of a small battlefield and a first sneak peak at death itself. I hope the story is keeping up with the hype, and needless to say Naruto and Tsunade are the only pairing in this story, so no harem requests please. It creeps me out that they were asking for Kushina and Mikoto to be added, but it ain't gonna happen people I hate harems. And as you've seen, the action and plot is heavy in this one with a small side of romance unlike my other ones since I did want to write a completely new take on this untouched time-line of my own accord. And I still do hope that people point out flaws in my writing skills if they do see any since it will only better the story further than this. And a little fluff in between (I couldn't resist, Tsunade and Naruto are too adorable to imagine, so gomen ;).) So I'll see you all next time, until then keep reading and sure as hell review if you do want further updates. NSE signing out Ja Ne ;)**_


	7. B-rank assignment

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **(Time-skip Six Months)**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Hokage Tower**

* * *

 **Mission** **'s Office**

* * *

"Mission Accomplished Hokage-sama, Squad Seven reporting in." Sasuke's voice rang in the silence adorning the large room filled with several chunins round a desk with the Hokage sitting at it's anchor point.

The stoic shaggy haired Kage nodded, taking the paper with the official report and scanned it with his critical eyes. Everything was meticulous, just as he had become used to from the strategic mindset of their team's strategist. He wasn't a man to see imperfections and was glad that he never had to point out any mistakes in their reports like he had to for many others before they were filed into the archives.

"Report received and approved, a mission well done as always." he stated blankly and the three genin smiled. It was their tenth C-rank mission, and as always they had put their all into it just as they did for each of their missions.

"Alright team, you all are dismissed for the day. Meet me tomorrow after resting up, and we'll see what we do from there on." their sensei told them and the three nodded, with Sakumo letting out a tired yet happy smile.

"Alright, come on Naruto let's go out for some food out today. It's been a while since we've been able to hang out outside of these missions…" Sakumo suggested but got a negative shake from Naruto that confused his dear teammates quite a lot.

"Why, what's the matter my youthful friend?" the green spandex lad boy asked and got a little apologetic smile from their blonde friend.

"Gomen, but Kagami Ojii-san asked me to come for a clan meeting today. I have to go, but we'll go next time I promise…" he spoke the last part quickly when their faces saddened and both smiled with a nod of understanding.

"It's alright, you go and do that. But next time…" Sakumo spoke slyly, catching him in a head lock and rubbing his head with his fist to make his blonde friend laugh.

"I'll see you tomorrow guys, Ja Ne…" the blonde chirped up, running out of the office and Sasuke smiled seeing his happy blonde subordinate. The boy certainly did bring a joy to everyone when he was around, he just had that calming sort of an aura in him.

Tobirama though let his gaze linger on the door for a while longer, the symbol embossed on the back of said boy's shirt making him fall into a deep thought of his own.

Sasuke saw his faraway gaze, and was surprised that his old friend had spaced out. It was quite unlike him to lose focus when he was on duty over something.

"Something the matter Tobirama?" he asked, dropping the honorifics to replace it with a warm tone and the stoic Senju's eyes snapped to his friend, realizing he had spaced out. He shook his head and started working on the papers on his desk with a new vigor, though his mind was still elsewhere for the time being.

Sasuke started to walk out with a shrug, only to be stopped from leaving by his friend's voice. "Sasuke…" the man turned around with a raised eyebrow at seeing Tobirama eyes that told him he was about to ask for something. "…tomorrow…" he spoke, confusing the elder Sarutobi greatly with his words.

"Take the day off." he stated flatly, in a voice that meant he wasn't taking no for an answer. Sasuke's eyes narrowed in on his friend's, not quite getting where he was going with this.

"Why?" he asked in a voice, that demanded he needed answers. The chunin by Tobirama's side shuddered when they felt a thick tension form between the two shinobis. Finally Tobirama relented seeing his firm stare and broke the silence himself.

"I have to borrow your subordinate for the day tomorrow, you may give the other two a leave…" he spoke blankly, turning his gaze down to his work to make the matter closed there and then. Sasuke knew the man won't say anything else and flickered away in a swirl of flames.

* * *

 **Meanwhile with Naruto…**

* * *

The blonde ran past the streets quickly, seeing the time on several of the clocks placed throughout the street lamps and wanted to be there a bit earlier than intended.

But his eyes caught sight of a figure sitting down on the porch by the Naka river that made him stop in mid stride and a small smile lit up his face.

Tsunade waved her legs back and forth, her feet dipped in the water and let out a soft sigh. She hadn't been getting any time with all the labor jobs her granduncle had been assigning them. It wasn't as cool being a shinobi as she always used to…

"Hey…" a voice whispered in her ear, a chin placing on her shoulder while arms wrapped up around her shoulders from behind. She smiled widely, already knowing who it was from the embrace alone and nuzzled her cheek by the one now placed by her own quite snugly.

She scooted aside when the arms let go and patted her side, where the blonde sat quickly and she put her head on his shoulder happily with a content sigh.

"When did you get back?" Naruto asked her, rubbing her arm to make her cuddle up by his side even more.

"Just today, you?" she asked him with a curious look and Naruto placed his own cheek on top of her head with a smile.

"Me too." he said in a whisper and both fell silent, enjoying each others presence that had become quite a scarcity these days in comfortable silence.

Naruto watched the sun, now dipping into the horizon and he knew he had to move now if he wanted to be on time.

"I have to go." he spoke, making her clutch his waist and shake her head quickly.

"No." she spoke flatly and he chuckled, kissing her head to get a small giggle from the chirpy girl, she wouldn't admit it but these small tender actions always warmed her heart.

He got up after wriggling from her grip, much to her protest and he saw her stand there with her hands on her hips and a frown now marring his face at being disturbed while she wanted to laze around with him a bit.

"Come on let's go…" he poked her forehead with a smile, making her grumble and rub the spot with a pout. She hated it when he did that.

He tucked his hands in his pockets, walking slowly towards his clan compounds lazily while enjoying the evening breeze and smiled hearing the soft humming from the girl beside him. Usually, she would chat her heart away but he could see that she just wanted to relish the moment they had gotten together as much as she could, he wasn't quite far away from her thoughts either.

* * *

 **Uchiha Clan compounds…**

* * *

"So…" he rose an eyebrow seeing the girl placing her hands behind her and looking at him curiously. "…where are we going?" she finally asked when it became too much to let her questions in anymore, and he looked on ahead towards the right corner of their compounds that had a small hill with a smile.

"You'll see…" he spoke calmly, making her pout but she pursed her lips and nodded, scooting a bit closer unknown to him to make herself a bit more comfortable while they whizzed past the streets of the guarded Uchiha districts.

* * *

 **Nakano Shrine**

* * *

"Where are we?" Tsunade finally asked and the boy smiled, walking up the stairs of their sacred shrine that belonged to his clan

"This is the Nakano Shrine, the shrine to the Uchiha patron deity." he answered in his usually calm tone and the girl huffed.

"I'm an agnostic!" Tsunade mumbled in an annoyed tone and Naruto sighed softly seeing the pouting girl who had her arms crossed in a huff.

"Come on, now be a sport and pray a fortune. Kami won't hurt you for praying to her…" he spoke with a chuckle, pulling the girl by her hand and she followed him with incoherent mumbles but didn't resist his grip even a little.

"Alright now…" she trailed off her rant midway, hearing a couple of claps and looked by her side to see Naruto standing with his hands clapped together and eyes closed.

She just watched his calm face, his hair flailing in the wind and became entranced by that calm and peaceful smile on his face as if nothing in the world could faze him.

She averted her eyes instantly when his eyes opened up after a minute, a pink dust adorning her cheeks and just stood by his side dumbly as he put in a coin and rang the bell to complete his prayer.

"Did you pray?" he asked the girl, who said nothing and crossed her arms with a huff, not willing to tell him she had spaced out in utter embarrassment, neither was she willing to lie to him.

Naruto knew she was being stubborn again, she was a reliable kunoichi who didn't believe in Kami o any deity. But everyone had to have faith, it was what he had been taught by his mother after all.

"Come on now…" he clasped her hands from behind her and clapped them by gripping the back of her palms in his own hands, much to the embarrassment of the girl. She could feel his breath over her cheeks and it made her cheeks burn quite a bit unknown to the boy behind her.

"I don't want to…" she mumbled half heartedly, and he smiled. He pulled his right hand up and closed her eyelids, much to the confusion of said girl.

"Everyone has to have faith Tsuna, it helps when you need something to rely on. Trust me okay?" he whispered and she fell silent. She couldn't say no when he had asked her to trust in him after all, it was the thing she couldn't say no to ever.

"Please fulfill the wish of my baka friend who is being quite stubborn right now, and forgive her. She's still a five-tear-old…" he finished his prayer while biting back a chuckle and she glared at him heatedly at his words, but said nothing as he rang the bell while putting a coin in her place.

"Baka…" she whispered to herself, kicking a rock with her feet to hide her tinted cheeks with her hair. He walked by her to the gates in a lazy stride and stopped abruptly at the gate making her look at him curiously.

"I have a clan meeting here in a while so I'll stay, you should head home. It's quite late now…" he spoke, making her look at the darkening sky and nod. She hadn't realized it was so late until now.

"You shrugging me off?" she asked him with narrowed eyes, but Naruto could feel her playfulness in her voice and smiled. He took out a hand from his pocket and smiled seeing her eyes follow it to see what he was up to and he merely poked her forehead softly, much to her annoyance who rubbed the spot childishly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, now you'll make me late. Off you go…" he shooed her away by pushing her away gently by her hips, and she went out while puffing her cheeks at his chuckles and waved back at him while walking down the stairs with a hop to her feet.

"It isn't everyday you see a Senju at this place, now do you?" a voice drawled out from behind him and Naruto grinned, turning around to see Kagami there with his own grin flashing across his lips.

"Ojii-san…" the blonde chirped up, and both went in for the gathering side by side.

"It's your first official one huh?" the elder man asked and got a happy nod from Naruto. It was compulsory for every Uchiha signed in as a shinobi or with the Sharingan to attend clan meetings as had been the tradition for generations now. But their gatherings had scarced out quite a lot ever since the formation of the village, reducing to approximately a couple of them a year except in times of emergencies.

"What's it about?" Naruto asked in his ever excited voice and the man smiled, ruffling his hair playfully.

"Nothing, just a little budgeting and going through some other official clan stuff. You just listen on and see what it's like alright, after all now you will be attending all of them." the man spoke and the blonde nodded as both went in to the main hall of the shrine where everyone had gathered.

Naruto sat alone in a corner, while Kagami went on ahead to sit with his fellow elders and just listened on to the discussion while storing all he heard back in his mind. Sure enough, nothing of importance was talked about except for the usual official and legal stuff that didn't concern him in the least.

* * *

 **Next Morning**

* * *

 _KNOCK…KNOCK…_

Naruto was quite surprised upon hearing the door knocked so early in the day. He put down his spoon into the bowl of cereal and walked out towards the front door, clicking it open only to be surprised at the sudden guest standing there.

"Welcome to the Uchiha residence." he spoke politely with a boy and Tobirama nodded curtly, crossing his arms with a calculative look in his eyes.

"Umm Ji-chan?" his stupor was broken by the soft voice of the blonde boy, making him blink and focus in on him completely, berating himself for losing his concentration like that.

"May I?" he asked, making the blonde blink innocently before his eyes widened and he scrambled to the side to usher his guest in.

"Of course, where are my manners…" the blonde muttered the last part to himself and closed the door behind him, while Tobirama walked in towards the living room.

"I hope I'm not making it an inconvenience by disturbing you so early?" the man asked, taking a seat on his couch and taking the glass of water offered to him with a grateful nod.

"Of course not Ji-chan…" the boy spoke instantly, taking a seat in the armchair and smiling when the cub hopped onto his lap, curling up into a ball. Tobirama didn't even think about the cub, so lost was he in his musings right now.

"So…" Naruto asked, once more breaking Tobirama out of his stupor making the blonde a bit nervous seeing his strange behavior and sudden presence here, not minding it in the least though.

"How have missions been?" Tobirama asked, and instantly cursed himself inwardly seeing the blonde raise an eyebrow at him as if he were stupid. Which he was right now, he was the Hokage for Kami's sake. Who asks that in his position when he got the reports firsthand by them personally.

"Umm, they have been fine…" the blonde muttered lamely and Tobirama sighed, rubbing his temples tiredly.

"Can I have some tea?" he asked and the blonde nodded, seeing how much the man needed it and went in to get it for him. Tobirama sipped on his cup while the blonde sat there waiting for him to speak up his mind when he was comfortable enough.

"How do you like your house Naruto?" he finally asked, and the blonde raised another eyebrow but answered him honestly nonetheless.

"I love it." he stated flatly, as if it were a world known fact and Tobirama nodded already figuring as much.

"What if…" he finally started and the blonde leaned in curiously for his words."…if you were offered a better, larger, a more comfortable and larger…" his words were cut off before they could be completed.

"No." the blonde spoke firmly, his eyes now a little hardened making the Hokage quite surprised at the steel he could see in those young eyes. Tobirama pursed his lips and Naruto now was feeling where this was heading to, but he let the man have his time.

"I am considering allocating a new place to the Uchiha clan…" he stated finally, and Naruto's heart skipped a beat at his words along with widening of his eyes. Tobirama could sense his shock and decided to elaborate further to make his point.

"With the Uchiha clan handling the village's police force, I am assigning them a bit more power and thinking of relocating them to the outskirts of the city where they will have a larger area to maintain said force and it's base of operations nicely. It will be a self autonomous sector of the village like the one you currently reside in within the completely empty eastern corner of the village walls…" he spoke his point in a single breath, and Naruto absorbed it all in silently, while his eyes became unfocused in thought before blinking back in focus.

"Won't that be like isolating the clan to a corner?" he finally asked and Tobirama sighed, it was exactly what he had been thinking and the only thing that had him postponing it for so long.

"Yes, but it is for the good of the village, we can't have the police force's prisoners being kept in the middle of the village and the Uchiha will have a much easier time handling it someplace where they are close to them…" he explained his plan and Naruto pursed his lips silently.

"I won't leave." he finally said, much to the surprise of the man who could hear his voice and see his eyes hardening even more.

"I won't leave my house, this is my family's legacy. Even if the clan leaves, I won't." he spoke flatly and Tobirama sighed tiredly, already figuring as much.

"But this will become a desolate part of the village Naruto, until the village decides on what to do with the land in the coming future…" he was cut off by Naruto, which came as a new thing to him since there weren't many that ever dared to cut his words off like this.

"I don't care if this becomes a graveyard, this is my house. It's my property and I won't abandon it for anything…" he spoke firmly and Tobirama had heard that tone many times before. It was how Mito spoke when she was hell bent on something and would remain stubborn to the end. It was no surprise he had inherited a bit of that flare too with how close those two were with each other.

"If that will be all Hokage-sama, I have some things to take care of…" Naruto spoke in a blank tone making Tobirama's eyes go wide at the dismissing tone he heard. But it wasn't that what surprised him, never once had the boy ever called him by that honorific before. It sounded a bit weird after years of his usual addresses.

Tobirama stood up, knowing the boy wasn't happy in the least bit right now with what he had been told. He wanted an Uchiha's honest opinion on the matter that wouldn't be biased to gauge how it will affect the clan, but apart from Kagami Naruto was the only one he could talk to with a personal level of words shared between them. Thus was the reason for his failed visit here.

"Hokage-sama…" the boy called out, making him stop at the entrance of the door and glance back with his left eye to see Naruto playing with the cub held in his arms while he had caught her paws playfully in his hands.

"You know Kiara and I have been with each other for a long time now…" the blonde started and Tobirama knew it wasn't about the cub, but something else and stood silently to hear the boy out for now.

"Sometimes I have to hide her in the closet while I hand her her favorite pillow and ball of wool if someone who doesn't know about her comes to visit…" he spoke and wiggled the cub's paws who mewled playfully and tried to touch his cheek with her paw but to no avail.

"She is always comfortable staying there for a little while…" he spoke and Tobirama narrowed his eyes, not getting where he was going with this when he scooped the cub up and nuzzled her cheek with his own to get a small purr from her lips while she licked him lovingly.

"But after a while she gets restless…" he spoke, gazing intently into his eyes and Tobirama knew now what he wanted to say and pursed his lips while turning his gaze around to the front of the door with a blank expression of thought on his face.

"Finally, when the time becomes too long, she becomes nervous and fidgets before she claws her way out of the closet door forcefully. Isolation and confinement can be such strange things ne?" he asked innocently and Tobirama closed his eyes, while a small smile lit up his face, unknown to the blonde behind him.

"Yes, it can be quite strange indeed. Thank you for the tea Naruto, it was nice as always. I'll visit you again in the evening to help you with that pet project of yours after I finish off some of my work back at the tower…" he spoke stoically, still not turning around and Naruto nodded, kissing the cub who was about to fall asleep after her food but he spoke a small line before he parted from here. "…right here." he spoke in a whisper and walked out, leaving a softly smiling Naruto behind who had heard and understood the meaning of those last two words in his whisper quite clearly.

* * *

 **Hokage Tower**

* * *

 **Hokage Office**

* * *

Tobirama paced through his usual hallways before making his way into his resting chambers. Sure enough, he found Sasuke, Hiruzen, Koharu, Homura and Danzo sitting there no doubt waiting for his presence for the meeting to commence.

He took a seat by them and started on the topic he had to discuss right now without beating around the bush, it was the thing he despised the most in his life. "As you may be wondering why I have called you here, I wish to discuss the Uchiha clan's relocation terms and how to go about it with you in this final meeting before I make my decision." he spoke calmly and they nodded, already figuring as much. Sasuke decided to start off by speaking his mind bluntly with no mincing of words as usual.

"I am against it, the idea doesn't really sound appealing to me. Make a nice little headquarter for them to manage the prison over there and let them stay where they are, relocating a whole clan for such a petty issue is not the right decision in my honest opinion." Sasuke spoke his mind and Tobirama nodded, already figuring as much from the man. Hiruzen decided to go after his father, since their views weren't that much different from each other but was cut off before he could put in a word.

"I think we should relocate them, the Uchiha clan have always been under suspicion by you sensei. Why not keep them there under strict walls and keep a tight eye on them?" Danzo stated his opinion and Tobirama nodded, not expecting anything else from him.

"I have to agree with my father there, but sensei why isn't Kagami here?" Hiruzen asked, seeing the empty seat of his friend and Tobirama looked on at the empty seat himself.

"He is scheduled to have a meeting within his clan regarding some matters that were left alone last night, but has already stated his opinion to me. He is against it." he spoke and they all nodded, already figuring as much.

"The clan heads wish for them to be put under lock and key too, and I'm afraid I agree with them since the Uchiha have always acted first upon the welfare of their clan and then the village. This way they can be of use to the village and not be involved too much in it either." Homura spoke, fixing his glasses and Tobirama nodded, filing away his opinion in the back of his mind for later.

"I have to disagree sensei, the clan heads have always been envious of the power and freedom the Uchiha's enjoy. They are almost a self autonomous little section of the village themselves, and wouldn't be the least bit worried to break away if need be. But they fought through in the last war till the end and haven't shown any signs of disloyalty till now…" her opinion was cut off by that of Danzo.

"And what of Izuna Uchiha all those years ago, that man wrecked a good chunk of the village in his vain of insanity." Danzo spoke up harshly making the woman scowl at her teammate.

"The actions of one man do not make up for those of the whole clan Danzo…" Hiruzen chimed in and Sasuke nodded.

"Plus, aside from the loss of life. Everything monetary was paid off by the Uchiha clan from the family's accounts to the village in whole, without any resistance whatsoever." Sasuke added in and the whole room was filled with tense silence.

Every pair of eyes turned to the silent Hokage who had his eyes closed and looked to be in deep thought upon the matter.

The table in front of them was laid out with various statements from the past few council meetings, with each clan's views on the matter.

Each of them knew what it was, it was at a stale mate. The same thing that had happened when the talks regarding the matter were taken up in the council meetings before it. The Uchiha were against it, but would have no choice in the matter should the village decree it.

Sasuke stood up, already knowing how suspicious Tobirama was of the clan his whole life and what his decision would be, there was absolutely no point in discussing this any further whatsoever…

"The relocation of the Uchiha clan is denied." his voice rang in the room and Sasuke's cigar slipped down from his lips and fell to the ground in shock. Each of them had their eyes turn to the size of saucers and look at the man in disbelief.

"What?" Danzo couldn't help but ask his sensei and was the only one right now who had found his voice, the others were far too much in shock at what they had heard.

"I think I made myself quite clear. The decision was at a stalemate, with only mine and the feudal lord's signatures needed on the matter regarding the relocating lands." he spoke ever so calmly, as if it was the weather report and they nodded numbly at the logic behind that statement.

It was only a pretense of democracy in front of the villagers, the feudal lord didn't have any say in these matters except for funding, that he was more than willing to provide if the idea did go through by the decree of the Hokage. The final word did rest with the stamp of the Nidaime Hokage and even the Uchiha knew it was a losing fight and they would be isolated. But this…

"That is the decision I've made, have the prison built along with a fortified HQ on the allocated lands that will be under the authority and direct control of the Uchiha clan. The relocation shall be quite a hassle in these times of tensions as is and the empty lands left that were to be used for the residential areas, will now be used to train and monitored by the Uchiha Police Force themselves…" he spoke in authority and each of them couldn't believe their ears at what they were hearing.

"Sensei, you are giving more power and authority to the Uchihas? A new HQ and a new division means more power to them, only if you do not go with the relocation of their residence to the sidelines as well." Danzo asked incredulously, still not being able to fathom it and Tobirama merely gave a curt nod.

"That is exactly what I'm saying…" he spoke and stood up, closing the matter up for the time being. "…have it announced now. The Uchiha clan are in charge of internal security matters for now and follow up on all the plans we had been building up for this situation." he spoke, in a tone of finality that left no room for arguments and stepped out, leaving a stunned group of people behind.

Sasuke left after him, and fell in step with the man who was quite stiff right now at the instinctive decision he had made. It defied all sense of logic, he had gone on a gut feeling alone and that was unlike him. He was a man of logic but the…

 _Finally, when the time becomes too long she becomes nervous, and fidgets, before she claws her way out of the closet door forcefully. Isolation and confinement can be such strange things ne?_

He couldn't, for the life of him get those words out of his mind. The certainty in that calm voice was like it would happen had he gone through with it, and the thought of a rebellion by the founding clan of the village. The image of Konoha alone would suffer massively, as much as he despised the clan they were one of the two founding clans and held an extreme amount of influence even still, after being weakened so much.

But the Uchiha clan rebelling?

Preposterous, that was something he wasn't willing to let happen no matter he reason. They were a part of the village and to keep the village united, while also keeping it under security were his jobs as Hokage.

But the thought of going against all logic and going on instincts was so unlike him, it annoyed him. It irritated him to think that he was acting like… Hashirama…

" _That boy I swear…"_ he muttered under his breath and everyone made way seeing the irate Hokage stomping into his office as if the Shinigami himself was waiting for him there.

"This is unlike you Tobirama…" a voice spoke when he stood in front of his window to calm down his nerves. A sigh escaped his lips and he crossed his arms behind his back, nodding in agreement.

"I know…" he spoke, and Sasuke nodded. He could see it had been tough for the man, hell when he had figured Tobirama Senju was going to be the deciding factor, he had been making images of every Uchiha packing up their stuffs in his mind.

"What made you change your mind?" Sasuke finally let the curiosity get the better of him and Tobirama looked on at the village with a contemplative gaze.

"I merely had a new perspective on things, that's all." he spoke in a spaced out tone and Sasuke was curious as to the source of this perspective that had changed the stone cold Hokage of their village to act on his gut feelings so hastily.

"But the Uchiha are under no way out of scrutiny…" he spoke firmly, and Sasuke smiled. Now he sounded like the Tobirama Senju he knew.

"The new division I am creating directly under my command, will be keeping an eye out for them and report directly to me about the way they function the police force and themselves. If they so much as think of picking up a mere plank of wood that could harm the village…" the dangerous whisper trailed off and Sasuke almost shivered, feeling the insane blood-lust and cold fury in his voice which died down in a second after it came out as he calmed himself down.

"I will maintain order and authority in this village like I have under my reign till now. Neither the Uchiha nor anyone else shall change that until I draw breath and am under obligation to look after it." he stated firmly, and Sasuke nodded with a proud smile and decided it was time for him to leave.

He decided to not question a gift in a horse's mouth for now and thanked whoever had influenced the man so much to change his view so significantly in a mere night. Because the last he knew, Tobirama Senju was willing to put the Uchiha to the side lines for good without even so much of a twitch of his cheeks.

He turned around and twisted the door knob, but did not leave before a few parting words. "For what it's worth, it was the right decision in my mind. And thank whoever it was that changed your mind so much from my side." he spoke and walked out, clicking the door close behind him and Tobirama let out a smile while he stood alone in the empty room now and gathered up his thoughts.

" _Thank him yourself, he is your subordinate after all."_ he thought and wanted to chuckle but held it in. Enough instinctive things for today, that boy would be the death of his image one day and maybe even him. He could almost feel a hair or two turning gray from the sleepless nights he would have, after he signed that official paper to stop the preparations for the relocation that is.

" _Kami forbid the demon that created paperwork…"_ he cursed and sat on his desk to clear up the growing piles of papers upon his desk before he had to go and meet the blonde boy to see what progress he had made on the scroll he had him prepare six months ago.

* * *

 **Next Morning**

* * *

 **Hokage Tower**

* * *

 **Missions Office…**

* * *

"Squad Seven reporting in for duty." Sasuke spoke up, getting a nod from the stoic Hokage who picked up a sheet listing their mission successes and then rummaged through a small pile of scrolls.

"Alright Squad Seven, a small village nearby is being troubled by bandits…" Tobirama spoke, and Sasuke instantly stiffened and narrowed his eyes on the speaking Kage.

All three genin perked up upon hearing this, listening on at what seemed like their first important mission for them after a myriad of C-rank missions.

"You all shall be traveling to the village that is half a day away from here. The mission details are in the scroll, this will be your first B-rank assignment. Do not disappoint me." he spoke up, getting a nod from all three of them with wide smiles.

Only Naruto was the one who had a confused look in his eyes, but kept his mouth shut for the time being.

Sasuke could see his eyes calculating the details of said mission in the blonde's mind and felt pride and nervousness like never before at seeing the three of them going for their first mission, still blissfully unaware as to what awaited them.

"You all wait outside, I'll have a little chat with the Hokage and join you in a minute." the jounin sensei spoke, getting a nod from the three of them while Naruto left with a lingering gaze on Sasuke and Tobirama before he left.

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak up before he was cut off as soon as his lips parted. "It is time Sasuke, it's been six months and ten missions for them. The necessary time and mission count is done. I shall hear nothing more on the matter, you are not to interfere in this mission. Just observe after handing them their orders and report the results directly to me…" the blank voice of Tobirama spoke up and raised his hand to quiet down the retort from his old friend before it could be put up at all.

"You may leave, I've said what I wanted. You have your orders…" he spoke sternly and Sasuke pursed his lips, though the anger in his eyes wasn't lost to Tobirama who watched the man clench the door knob so tightly that it buckled under pressure before he left.

"Sasuke…" Tobirama called out, making the Sarutobi turn his gaze around and caught a flying scroll in his hand effortlessly.

"Take them there on your way back and scout this area out, think of it as a secondary mission…" he spoke making the smoking man look at the scroll in his hands comprehensively.

"Only take them there if any one of them fails their tasks and have them complete it there, else send them back before you and scout it yourself. Dismissed." Tobirama spoke in a dismissive tone and Sarutobi walked out without a word. Both knew what it was, and as much as Sasuke hated to have to do this, he too knew it was time for them to grow up.

He walked out, putting his hand in his pocket for a cigar but decided against it. He wasn't in the mood for a smoke today. Instantly, he flicked the scroll open, his eyes scanning each and every word carefully and he drawled out a long sigh while pinching his nose.

"Alright…" he spoke up, getting the attention of the three genins chatting away excitedly and obliviously unaware of their sensei's worries. "… let's head out, we are wasting daylight." he spoke emotionlessly, and the three nodded happily and followed him out.

* * *

 **A small civilian farming village outside the village grounds…**

* * *

Sasuke dropped down from tree branch when the forestry came to an end and the village came into his view. His students looked on at him a bit peeved at his abrupt stoppage.

"What's the matter sensei? Let's go, we are about…" Sakumo was cut off by the elder man mid way.

"I will not be involved in this mission whatsoever." he spoke seriously, and they looked at him in stunned disbelief but stayed silent to hear him out.

"But why sensei? Aren't you supposed to lead us…" Naruto reasoned in when Sasuke shook his head in negative.

"Not this time Naruto, many a times I will have to go away on a separate part of the mission which I cannot involve you three in, while you three take care of the parts suited to you. It's time you were stopped being coddled and grew up to be shinobi…" he spoke in a tone that the three weren't used to hear from the man. His voice and eyes were cold as glaciers, as if every emotion in his eyes had died out in a moment only to leave a stone cold shinobi behind. Each of them had a feeling of dread and foreboding in their stomachs.

"Sensei what's the matter? Why are you being so serious all of a sudden?" Duy asked in a nervous voice, that didn't have any of his usual exuberance laced in it. Sasuke merely flicked the scroll open and decided to read up their orders.

"Alright, as you all already must have guessed we are here to take care of a small bandit camp…" he drawled out and got relieved nods from the three. They had done this twice before, beat up those civilian wannabees and tie up the criminals until the local authorities took care of them. But Sakumo found something odd about this, as did Naruto.

"Sensei, we have done this before right? But they were all C-rank assignments. Why is this a B-rank?" Sakumo asked and Duy blinked in realization, before looking at his sensei with curious eyes.

Sasuke looked into those innocent eyes, that was the last time they would be this pure before they hardened up a bit for life.

"You three will go in and eliminate the bandit camp leaders before burning up the camp completely with no trace for survivors." he spoke coldly, and their eyes widened in horror.

"W-What?" Duy stuttered out in shock as if he hadn't heard him right the first time.

"The bandit camp is led by a small contingent of men that are residing in the main building in the middle of their resting place. Go in, eliminate any three of them and seal their bodies in these…" he handed them the storage scroll especially designed to store human corpses and the three took the numbly, not quite absorbing it in fully in themselves.

"Then burn up the whole camp, blow it up. Do anything you wish for, but leave no traces or any survivors behind. That is your mission…" he finished and looked at his three numb students with a heavy heart. He had grown attached to these idiots as much as he didn't want to admit it, and it pained him to do this to them.

"But sensei why kill them?" Duy asked and his two teammates agreed with him whole heartedly.

"Yeah why couldn't we just tie them up and take them back to be arrested instead of killing…" Sakumo suggested and flinched under the harsh glare that Sasuke gave him.

"Because your orders are to eliminate them, this is your superior officer's order. These are your Kage's orders which means it is ordered by the village you've sworn to protect and you will eliminate this threat to the village today." he spoke in a harsh tone making the boy look down and fall silent. As harsh as he sounded, Sasuke knew this was what they needed right now.

"Sensei…" Naruto's nervous voice came, who was scared at speaking of his cold sensei right now. Duy nodded to him and he nodded back before returning his gaze to Sasuke. "…what if we…" he trailed off with a heavy gulp and Duy decided to help him out.

"What if…" Even Duy lost his voice before he could speak up and both looked down at their feet before falling silent.

"What if you couldn't do it, right?" Sasuke asked and the three nodded timidly. His heart pained at seeing the boys who weren't even meeting his gaze right now and he took a deep breath.

"Remember I told you I could strip you off your ranks as shinobi if I didn't deem you worthy at any point of time?" he asked and the three nodded timidly.

"Well, this is it. Failure to fulfill your objective will result in you being stripped off your headbands." he lied, and the three looked at him in shock. Their hearts skipped a beat and they looked at him pleadingly, as if wishing it were all a lie but he didn't waver in his stance with so much as a flinch.

"I have another mission to fulfill, you three head on out. When I return, I expect the camp to be demolished and those scrolls…" he pointed to the scrolls in their hands which they looked at as if it were the most disgusting thing on the planet right now. "…should be filled. Do not disappoint me." he spoke and before any of them could utter a word, he vanished in a flicker of flames.

All three stood silently in a trance as if they weren't even conscious for a few moments. Naruto clutched the scroll so tightly, the tightly rolled up paper started to buckle under his grip.

"What are we going to do now?" Duy finally broke the heavy silence and Sakumo looked away for the first time not being able to answer his exuberant friend.

Naruto started walking away after turning around and as soon as he took his second step, his shoulder was pulled back harshly and his back met the bark of a tree roughly.

"You can't seriously be thinking of doing this mission, are you?" Sakumo asked his friend incredulously only to see the pure fury in his eyes, when in a moment of surprise Naruto caught his collar in his hand and pulled his face near his own.

"What do you think I'm going to do? He hasn't given us much of a choice now, has he?" Naruto snarled and Sakumo himself looked at his brother in all but blood with the same fury in his own onyx eyes too. He had half a mind to sock his friend to bring him back to his sense, had he not been utterly confused himself.

"Guys, don't fight. It's not youthful…" Duy whispered from the side, seeing the two ready to sock each other. Sakumo loosened his grip on Naruto's collar and the blonde pushed him back half heatedly before looking away a bit shamefully.

"I'm sorry…" both muttered at the same time and fell silent. Duy would have smiled any other day, but today he merely watched on as Naruto started his slow stride to the village where the camps were situated.

"Sakumo, what should we do?" Duy asked, not at all in the right state of mind right now and said boy didn't have an answer today.

"I don't know Duy, I just don't know…" he whispered, hitting the bark where he had pushed his buddy harshly and clenched his eyes shut to bite back his nervousness but to no avail. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked back to see Duy smiling at him with a look of understanding.

"Let's go my friend. Naruto won't be able to do this alone, he needs us just as much as we do him…" he consoled him with a squeeze of his shoulder and Sakumo sighed, nodding himself in agreement at his words to see Naruto having walked quite a distance already and didn't seem to be in any mood for stopping right now.

"Yeah…" he whispered in defeat and started walking with the taijutsu specialist of their team to follow up their teammate, who himself was the most confused inwardly as much as he tried to show how firm he was to complete his mission.

No one noticed Sasuke watching them from afar, and how his grip tightened so harshly on the branch he was holding in his hand that the five inches thick branch splintered itself under his extremely tight grip while he made a cross shaped hand seal to complete his own part of the mission.

Naruto didn't even glance to his side as he stood atop a tree, hiding in it's bushy leaves to provide himself the cover to scout out the camp while his friends fell down by his side.

"There's the main camp…" Duy pointed to a large tent in the middle, surrounded by several smaller tents and Sakumo put a hand on his close friend's shoulder, this time without the harshness and instead a comforting one.

"Are you sure about this?" Sakumo asked one final time, if he was going through with this then so was he. Duy too nodded to Sakumo, understanding his silent question with a mere glance of their eyes and both watched Naruto look back to the camps with a space out look.

"No…" the blonde answered honestly and both boy blinked by his side, clearly not expecting this. "…but we have to do this. It's our mission, and it's not like those people are innocent. They are bandits, meaning rape, murder and extortion is what they do for a living. I mean, the village will never sen us to kill innocents…" the blonde tried to comfort his friend's but more so himself with his wavering words.

"Besides, there is no place for emotions on a mission remember?" he asked Sakumo and he nodded back, reciting the 25th principle in the back of his mind.

"How are we going to do this then?" Duy asked, finally accepting the mission to heart and both boys looked at each other before Naruto saw Sakumo was in no state of mind right now to think clearly at all, so he decided to take charge this time.

His hand slipped back into the pouch strapped on his hips, and he pulled out a large bundle of red tags with cleanly brushed kanji lithographed over them. He split the small bundle in three equal parts and handed them one each.

"We'll go around the camp silently, with as much stealth as we could we will put these on everywhere we can without being seen, before meeting over there…" Naruto pointed to a small abandoned bonfire covered with several logs that must have been used to sit last night, but would now provide the perfect cover for them to regroup before they initiated the second phase of their mission.

"And then?" Sakumo finally asked Naruto, wanting to hear it from his lips one last time to make sure he was really going through with it. Naruto merely looked on ahead and disappeared with a quick **Shunshin** to act out his part of the tents.

Sakumo looked on as Naruto had started rushing towards the northern part of the camp and his gaze turned to a confused looking Duy looking at him for any further details he might have missed on.

"You go for the eastern part Duy, leave the west to me…" he finally muttered and Duy nodded before rushing off to the eastern parts of the tents.

* * *

 **Back with Naruto…**

* * *

Naruto jumped up over the makeshift wall, his eyes narrowing in on his surroundings to avoid being spotted by anyone. He ran past a couple of tents, slapping on the tags over them swiftly with the grace of a dancer and rushed straight past the shadows like a hawk stalking his prey who roamed around unaware of the shadow of death that loomed over it.

He saw a man walking past the tent he was hiding behind and crouched down, his eyes narrowing when the man stretched and turned his back to him. Instantly Naruto slapped a tag underneath his arm pit, while the man was none too wise and Naruto went on to slap several more before he regrouped.

He jumped up on to the top of a tent, his eyes peering over the edge and his eyes flickered crimson for a moment to check if he had made the grip of tags as perfect as he could under the circumstances.

He had given them his own tags since unlike normal tags, these were made by him and Mito herself and were a lot more concentrate than normal ones which were merely used to make brushing burns or distracting foes in combat. These ones could take down normal sized walls if need be, so he knew at least their deaths would be swift and painless, it was the least he could do for them.

He slid down the tent quickly and ran past several tents to their meeting point in crouched sprint, dodging a couple of watcher on his way as he hopped over the log and jumped behind the three way cover only to see Duy and Sakumo hopping a moment later.

"Alright, you guys done?" the blonde asked and got a nod from the both of them, and he nodded back. Peering over to see the tent they were looking to infiltrate being looked after by two guards standing at it's front entrance.

"Come on…" he whispered and both his teammates nodded, hoping out from their cover positions and following their teammate in the same crouched sprint as him while keeping an eye around for anything and everything.

Naruto reached the back of the tent and put his left arm over his shoulder to catch the handle of his sword and unsheathed it.

The blade hummed softly, with the metal conducting the wind chakra it's wielder was pushing inside it and Naruto put it's tip on the thick canvas that no normal weapon would be able to slice, but his sword sliced through it as if hot knife through butter. He made a 'U' shaped cut and lifted it's helm. Duy slipped in, with Sakumo following and Naruto went in before checking they weren't being watched and stepped in while letting the cloth drop down and look as if it had never been cut in the first place.

The boys slowly walked in half a crouch, hearing the laughter's coming from the middle and intelligently decided to not go near there. Sakumo grasped Naruto's shoulder and pulled him back in a makeshift room within the tent, only for him to see a laughing man walking past him and both sighed in relief.

They once more walked around, slapping around explosive tags in places where they won't be seen and find themselves their targets.

"Tsk…guys…" Duy whispered, stopping in front of a room and pointed in with his finger with a nod. Naruto and Sakumo slid beside the edge to it's entrance to see six people sleeping in there and the strong essence of liquor in the air. Sakumo nodded his approval and the three slid in the room quietly as a silent breeze of death.

Sakumo put his right hand above his shoulder and pulled out his own white blade with a soft sling while Duy pulled out a simple kunai from his pouch and the three took their positions by the bedsides of the three sleeping people on the left side of the room. The three on the right snoring away peacefully, unknown to them what threat loomed over their companions heads.

Sakumo changed his grip over his blade to reverse sided one with the two teammates following his example and doing the same with their own.

Naruto put his sword above his target's unaware head, his long blade held with both hands over the man's neck with it's tip pointing straight on to his jugular. Sakumo mimicked the blonde's posture while Duy gripped his kunai in a reverse grip in one hand and put the other over it's hilt for the extra force to make it clean and swift at the same fatal point on his target.

Naruto's hands trembled in fright, his eyes widening at what he was about to do. A bead of sweat rolled down his right eye, completely unblinking, his gaze was straight n top of his target's peacefully unaware face. He gulped down a thick sob, his eyes watering and he could feel his resolve trembling for a moment.

" _What am I doing? Am I really going to…"_ his thoughts trailed off when he saw his target's eyes flicker for a moment.

"Ugh, Wh-" was all he could whisper when he started focusing in on Naruto.

 _SQUELCH…_

Naruto, on instinct upon seeing his cover being blown pushed down to a knee and brought his blade down along with him,it went past it's obstruction efficiently in his steel like grip after years of practicing with a blade.

Duy and Sakumo, hearing the sudden sound did the same on instinct and fear with another couple of soft sounds of flesh piercing ringing in the room.

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the man's eyes rolling in the back of his head, his body twitching a few times in soft gurgles before it fell completely limp and his left hand fell down lifelessly to his side.

He fell down on his butt, his left hand was pulled up shaking like a dry leaf and upon the right side of his face. He traced it upon his numb skin, and pulled the hand in front of his eyes only to see it have crimson streaks upon it and his eyes widened in horror.

" _I killed him…"_ he chanted inside his head, over and over. His whole body trembled in fright and his breathing became labored while his eyes lost focus upon everything and the blade fell down by his side while he hyperventilated.

Duy and Sakumo were in better conditions that their friend, but in their shocked states they couldn't see what was happening to the blonde while they still couldn't believe what they had done. Both had a thick scarlet fluid tracing upon their palms and looked at it horrified to realize they had killed someone.

Naruto's Sharingan flared to life, the three tomoes in each of his pupils spun wildly while they glowed with a new vigor, and even more crimson that ever before.

The last thing the three felt were three chops to their necks simultaneously before their eyes rolled to the back of their heads and they left the realms of consciousness.

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : There is the next chapter. That is such a nice time to end it ne? (*chuckles evilly* :D) well hope you all like it thus far, so next time they come they come to terms with their actions and Sasuke guides them through it while they embark on more missions and see the tensions rising between the nations with their own eyes. Well, I won't say much this time. I want to hear your honest opinions on this one, so I'll see you next time and please do comment your opinion in a review. Until next time, keep reading and reviewing. Ja Ne ;)**_


	8. Realizations

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Outskirts a few miles outside of Konohagakure no sato…**

* * *

A small bonfire was lit up in the middle of a clearing, while a man sat down on a log bu it's side. His trusted cigar donned upon his lips, while his eyes scanned the details of the scroll laid unfurled in his hands in the small light provided by the fire in the death of night.

"So that's what you had planned had they not gone through with it, huh Tobirama?" the elder Sarutobi murmured to himself, and glanced up to see his three genin sleeping in their sleeping bags under the shade of the stars, blissfully unaware of anything beside their forced deep slumber.

His hand reached his forehead, rubbing his temples, he let out a small breath of exhaustion. Even if he hadn't done anything physically taxing, he could already feel the weight of his emotional drains starting to take it's effect upon him.

And that was not to say he had yet to talk to his students about the past events to see how each of them was doing.

Another sigh escaped his lips, this teacher stuff was a pretty demanding job now that he had experienced it firsthand.

"Mm…" his eyes snapped up, looking towards the three asleep genin. Only to see that the blonde member of his team was squirming, and quite obviously starting to regain his consciousness.

Naruto clenched his eyes, before blinking off the cobwebs and sitting upright. He glanced around sleepily, his mind yet to regain it's bearings while his gaze took in the sleeping form of his two teammates.

Instantly in the blink of an eye, the events that had occurred in the past couple of hours came rushing back in his mind and he stiffened.

Sasuke gazed into his baby blue eyes, instantly noticing the loss of shine in them as they suddenly became a bit dull in the flickering light of the flames. The blue eyes stared down upon the hands placed over his lap with a shameful expression now marred upon his face.

"Naruto…" Sasuke called out, getting no more than a twitch of his ears to acknowledge he was listening and continued on undeterred. "…look at me Naruto." he called again, this time his voice holding a a new found warmth and care in it, that made him glance at his sensei shamefully before averting his eyes again.

Sasuke let out a soft sigh, he knew it would be the hardest for the most caring of the bunch and that certainly was true as light in this case.

Finally, he placed his hands upon his knees and stood up. Walking up, he crouched down beside the boy on one knee only to see him spaced out and looking at his open palms with glazed eyes. His arm snaked around the boy's shoulders, pulling him closer he tucked the boy's head under his chin and patted his back gently.

"It's alright…" he whispered gently, and just like that the boy circled his arms around his sensei and clenched them tightly as if he were a lifeline to him.

"Sensei, I-I…" he choked out and the man just held him tighter, letting him know it was alright. The boy didn't cry, he knew he wanted to but was holding himself back and Sasuke couldn't be prouder of his pupil. It wasn't in everyone's heart, that as gentle as he was, they would be able to steel their emotions like that when there was nothing holding them back from doing so in the first place.

"Sensei-?" the boy whispered, making him pull his shoulders back and meet his questioning gaze with one of his own understanding warm ones.

"What's the matter Naruto? Tell me…" he urged the boy to let it all out. After all, bottling it all up wasn't going to be healthy in the least for him right now. He remembered how it had felt when he had made his first kill, albeit they were a lot younger back then, but those were different and troubled times long since past.

"Why do we do it?" he asked simply, and as simple as those words were, Sasuke knew how important those were to his young mind and life. He pondered over all his years and the experience he had conjured up while he had been a shinobi to rack his mind for a suitable answer to sate the boy's curiosity.

"It is just the way our world works Naruto…" he drawled out tiredly, sitting cross legged and putting his chin upon his fist in a thoughtful manner. The boy had his eyes fixated upon his each and every word, taking it all in like dry sponge to fluids. "…we kill, or be killed. As simple as that." he spoke on, taking a long drag of smoke before letting it out, and watched the boy's eyes turn down in contemplation, he knew that his answer wasn't enough to sate those ever curious eyes as brief as he had been.

"It's this way. As of today we were responsible for the deaths of a few tenths of some common bandits…" he explained, and the boy nodded. Feeling even worse at hearing those numerical statistics, but Sasuke went on paying it no heed. "…had we let them live however, they would have murdered several times the people of their own count. And that isn't counting the small loots, rapes and several other vile crimes that are even worse than murder itself. By killing a few, you saved a lot of people today Naruto…" he explained in his ever calm tone, and got a hesitant nod from the boy. A hand clasped his slumped shoulder firmly, making those baby blue pools look up into the stern onyx pools of his teacher. "…some people are just beyond saving Naruto. That lesson is one I want to impart onto you right now Naruto, you may try and save as much as you can with you have, but there will come a moment when you'll realize that some people are just beyond saving. When they cross that bridge or line, that is where you must make the hard decision and end it, before they may or may not hurt some people close to you. That is what I've learnt over the years Naruto, remember my lesson well child, for it may help you out in what awaits you in the future…" his wise and warm voice spoke, while his palm found a way to the blonde mop of hair and rubbed it gently only to smile when he saw the childlike spark of happiness return in his pupil's eyes while he nodded back firmly.

Naruto shook his head, wiping his eyes off the unshed tears and sat down beside him. Both eating a little of what the instructor had prepared with the barest of supplies he had in his pouch and the young one listening on to his teacher's stories from the past to take his mind off the past events and to impart him with some more knowledge that may come in handy for the boy one day, till they finally decided to call it quits and went into the lull provided to them by the shade of the night and the stars up above.

* * *

 **Next Morning**

* * *

Sasuke looked on at his genin packing up their supplies and clearing of all traces of their presence with a small proud smile. Sakumo and Duy had taken it better than he had thought, a little tears on each others parts after a talking to, and they were raring to go again, even though he could see the new found seriousness and loss of innocence within their eyes. But it wasn't like it was unexpected, rather he would have been worried had they not had any repercussions whatsoever.

"Alright kids, we are going to be taking a detour." he drawled out, making the three of them stop and blink at him in honest confusion.

"Detour?" Sakumo asked in a lost voice getting another two lost looks and shrugs from his companions that told him they had no idea about this either.

"What detour sensei? Our mission is done isn't it?" Naruto asked and got a firm nod of affirmative from his teacher. "Then shouldn't we head back and report to the village as is the procedure? Where are we going anyways?" he finally asked what was on each younger one's minds and Sasuke nodded.

"Yes, that is the procedure, but I had a secondary mission with a choice…" he answered their queries while further adding fuel to their curiosity filled fires. "…I could choose whether or not to take you with me on this one. Had you had failed the previous one, you would have had to accompany me without choice. But you all passed." he spoke, hopping off onto a branch and looking back at them with the glance of a single eye.

"It is your choice children, whether you wish to come with me or not. The things you'll see next will not be something you would like to see…" he explained and got his three subordinates a bit nervous at his chosen tone of voice. "…you may very well return to the village, or you may follow me. Either way, it won't be held against you in the least. I'll be waiting for you by the river for five minutes. Those of you who wish to come, may come there. The rest may return to the village and we'll report in when I return, together." he drawled out and jumped ahead onto the next branch before repeating it quickly and disappeared within the foliage in mere seconds.

"What could he mean by 'not something you like'?" Duy finally asked and got a couple of nervous glances from his teammates which were followed by oblivious shrugs. They had no idea themselves.

"I say we follow him…' Sakumo finally broke the small silence that had settled in between them and got a surprised look from his teammates.

"I don't really know, I mean after last time who knows what it maybe…" Duy drawled out pointedly and got a nod from Naruto, who was agreeing with him on each and every word. The eccentric genin looked on at his final teammate who still remained to answer to see what he thought, it was a silent conversation between them.

Either they all went, or none of them that much every one of them knew.

Naruto looked up onto the sky and let out a deep breath. He squinted his left eye when a beam of sunlight peered from within the tree and smiled seeing a small bird flying over their heads.

"Let's go guys." he finally spoke, getting a small smile from Sakumo who merely nodded and Naruto clasped his green clad friend's shoulder reassuringly.

"Come on Duy, let's go." he spoke calmly and all his nerves washed away and their friend smiled himself. A moment later Naruto saw a small fire ignite in his friend's eyes and he gulped, trying to calm him down but it was already too late.

"Yosh! Let the power of youth explode!" he exclaimed when much to their horrors, he caught their wrists in his iron grip. Both knew what was coming, and before they could utter a word the pumped up boy had taken off.

With them in tow…like rag dolls peering through the bushes.

"Sensei! Let's go, we are ready!" Sasuke heard a shout and rose an eyebrow when he turned his eyes to the source of said voice. His energetic student flew out of a bush with his two dizzy and leaves covered teammates behind him.

Duy blinked, seeing his sensei's amused gaze and looked behind only to turn sheepish. His two teammates, dizzy as hell were trying to shake off their cobwebs and cleaning themselves up from their youthful trip.

He couldn't help but smile, seeing his three genins argue to each other as if the past day had lay forgotten and they were fine as long as they were together.

"Idiots…" he mumbled, hopping off the boulder he sat upon and decided to stop their banter when he saw Sakumo bonk Duy on the head as punishment and scold him as if he were a child, and himself a teacher while said boy was apologizing profusely for his youth.

But he couldn't be glad, or prouder that they had each decided to come. These three never ceased to amaze him no matter the reason.

"Alright, break it off, let's go…" he drawled out and jumped upon a tree, not caring enough to see if the three were following and sure enough they were. With quite fired up and determined eyes that is.

"Sensei what's the mission?" Sakumo finally let out the question that was on all their minds and the elder Sarutobi said nothing for a few moments, pondering on his own decision whether or not this was actually a right decision for him. He glanced back, only to see their innocent and confused faces and looked on ahead with a tired look in his eyes.

" _They need it, they still don't know what they are going to be up against in the coming future. It's my burden to bear, for they need to grow up now…"_ he drawled out inwardly and let out a long breath.

"We have another B-ranked assignment…" he spoke up, finally breaking the tense silence. Naruto's feet met a branch and he hopped onto the next one with a curious glint in his eyes.

"What is it sensei?" he asked and Sasuke glanced to his side to see his genin all having their eyes fixed on him and turned his eyes ahead onto the path ahead.

"It's a simple scouting mission, we have to go close to the nearby border and scout out all the happenings there. That is the mission." he finally explained and Naruto nodded.

"Then why is it a B-ranked mission sensei?" Duy suddenly asked, surprising them all and the said boy blushed when all eyes turned to him and smiled sheepishly when all of the attention was fixated upon him.

"You'll see…" was all they got from their sensei before he let out a burst of chakra to increase his speed, with his three genin doing the same and whizzing past the trees at a quick and new-found pace.

* * *

 **A small clearing near the Konoha-Kusa borders…**

* * *

Sasuke halted his sprinting jumps through the trees and rose a hand making his three charges do the same and crouch down on their respective branches silently.

Duy was about to voice a question loudly when he saw Sasuke placing a finger over his lips, signaling him to stay quiet and peered over the small hole between the green foliage to see what lay ahead.

Sakumo and Naruto though narrowed their eyes when their ears picked up upon something coming from the front.

 _CLANG…CLANG…BOOM!…_

Their eyes snapped open in shock and they too parted the leaves of the tree, and peered on over to what lay on the other side.

All genin's eyes widened in horror, numerous shinobi were fighting down the small sized ravine leading onto the edge of the border.

Naruto watched on in stunned silence, as a shinobi jumped up and cleaved his kunai straight through another shinobi's jugular before moving on ahead to the next target as if the previous scene hadn't happened at all in the first place.

Duy and Sakumo too were watching on the bloodshed that was ensuing and almost at it's peak end with several small skirmishes almost at their bitter ends.

"Sensei…" Sakumo and Duy whispered, while the elder Sarutobi kept his eyes especially fixated on his blonde subordinate who seemed to be trembling at all that he was being shown right at this moment.

"What is this?" Naruto choked out, barely containing himself from puking his guts out when he watched the last two shinobi battle it all out and ripped the swords through each other's eyes.

"This is the truth of what lays in wait for us shinobi." Sasuke spoke, sadness clearly laced in his eyes. But he dared not let them take their eyes off this scene. It would do them no good and most probably lead them to an early grave if they ever hesitated out in the battlefield even for a moment.

"But why sensei, aren't we allied neutrally with the others…" Sakumo reasoned in, his eyes stuck on the now crimson ground, laid out with several unidentifiable corpses while small bouts of smoke rose up from several places. But he was cut off before he could say any more by his instructor.

"Alliances are just that, mere paper and words of peace Sakumo. It only truly ever matters if the allied nations do truly believe in the peace they are all fighting towards _seemingly for themselves…_ " he answered in his own wizened voice while pronouncing each and every last word with an extra emphasis to make his point clear to the boy.

"Ugh-" they all heard a painful moan and Sasuke's eyes widened momentarily when he caught a small movement in the corner of his eye.

"No don't-…" he hissed but it was in vain. His blonde genin jumped off the tree and straight down onto the ground, whizzing his way past the fully nurtured greenery and slid down the edge of the ravine expertly as he had done while playing and sliding through several places in his childhood exploration's effortlessly.

Naruto rushed past the smoking craters, several corpses lying lifelessly all around him. He couldn't help but grimace at the sight, it was as if a part of hell itself had summoned itself down onto the earth in that moment to him.

His feet stopped him by the only breathing person on the once smoking and lively battlefield. He skidded down onto his knees hurriedly, placing the man's head upon his lap, and instantly began to look through his wounds.

The man clad in all red, had a kunai jabbed right through where his liver was supposed to be and was bleeding profusely.

A fatal wound, one any shinobi was trained for, and would be proud to have made upon his enemy. His baby blue eyes, glanced into the clouded brown ones of the man in his arms who winced and tried to speak up.

"W-…" was all he could say before he coughed out blood, Naruto had instantly wiped it off his face and put his ear near his lips to hear him clearly and make it easier for the man.

"W-Water…" the man wheezed out, and Naruto nodded vigorously. Instantly, his left hand reached his back and pulled out his small bottle of canteen. He unscrewed the supply, and instantly placed it upon the man's lips to let him drink it slowly. He smartly put some upon his face and eyes to wash off the blood and dirt so his wounds wouldn't be affected anymore for risk of further infections.

His ears didn't even pick up on the soft footsteps from behind, so far was he focused onto the wounded man in his arms.

The man's eyes squinted slightly upon feeling the foreign liquid falling upon his orbs while he tried to blink off his cobwebs and his eyes began focusing on his savior.

Naruto turned his gaze round to his side worriedly, looking at his sensei pleadingly.

"Sensei, please hand me some bandages. This man he-"

 _SQUELCH…_

His eyes widened slightly,before widening to epic proportions and his pupil dilated in shock. He turned his eyes to the side, only to see the man in his arms gurgling blood while a kunai had lodged itself firmly within his jugular.

 _CLANG…_

Naruto looked down by the dead man's hand when a kunai slipped down his lifeless fingers and fell onto the ground with a bounce. His own palm made it's way up straight towards his face and pulled it down, feeling a slightly wet substance upon his skin surfaces.

His blue eyes gazed at the palm in front of his eyes, only for him to go completely numb upon seeing the sticky and thick substance now coating it.

It was scarlet.

His head turned mechanically to the other side, only to see Sasuke pulling down his outstretched hand by his side as if nothing had taken place at all.

Naruto finally looked down, onto the man's completely white and dead eyes that had rolled back lifelessly.

"Why?" he asked in a trance, his mind not completely registering it while the elder Sarutobi merely let out a long breath.

"He was going to kill you Naruto. It was either you, or it was him. I chose the former…" the sensei explained calmly, as if reading a simple weather report.

"But why? He was dying, I was trying to help him then-" the boy mumbled in his own lost and trance like voice, not quite registering what had taken place just now as was indicated by his still dilated pupils.

"Look at his headband Naruto…" Sasuke spoke in a warm and comforting voice, while Naruto's eyes settled in on the red piece of cloth upon his forehead that had a stone symbol embossed upon it. "…he was an Iwa shinobi Naruto, and skirmishes between the Leaf and the Stone have been at an all time high unknown to you kids or the village except us higher ups and border patrols." he explained, and got a small numb yet meek nod from the blonde.

"But I was merely helping-" Sasuke pulled his shoulders sideways to have him face his own stern and cold onyx black eyes into the dilated baby blue ones forcefully.

"This isn't a simple fight between two shinobi where you may show a little mercy to a dying man Naruto. This a fight between nations, as soon as that man's eyes focused on you the first thing he saw was the Leaf symbol donned upon your headband. That was all that he needed to want to end you and leave a small mark in his dying breath for his village." he explained sternly, watching the boy's eyes squirm around but he held them firm by cupping his cheeks in his palms and making him look into his own even more forcefully.

"Naruto we are almost at war…" he whispered, shocking even the two genin behind him. Just as Sakumo was about to argue about the treaty of neutrality and logic he was cut off by Sasuke's stern voice.

"The last few missions we have been doing over the past few months, just what were they?" Sasuke asked while glancing back at the strategic head of his team who pursed his lips and jogged his memory back to the moments ever since they were a team.

"We have been bringing by supplies stocked outside of the village into our secure warehouses from our nearby farming villages, occasionally a couple of inside village missions regarding some filing and…" his words were cut off by Sasuke in between.

"When does a shinobi village start to restock it's supplies?" he asked and Sakumo's eyes widened while his blood ran cold upon realization of the meaning behind his words. The instructor turned his eyes back to the blonde who was looking at him as if he weren't even conscious but Sasuke knew they had to hear this to be prepared.

"Look around you Naruto…" he spoke in but a soft whisper, while the blonde looked around the completely destructed grounds littered with several corpses and fumes of smoke from the aftermath of a small skirmish. "…we are at the most tense situation with the other nations than ever in the past decade or so. The Hokage knows it, but is keeping tight lipped about it to the civilians so as to not create any hurried reactions or destabilization within our walls. The higher ranked shinobi know it too, we are almost on the verge of war Naruto, and this is what it will look like when the final spark that ignites the flames shall be sparked." he spoke in a comforting tone, doing anything but what his voice had intended to do for the blonde.

Once more he brought those darting and frightened eyes to look onto his own and slapped his cheeks gently to make them gain a bit of focus and concentration that they had ceased.

"You are the one that worries me the most child. Even now, as soon as you saw a man hurt you ran out, not caring in the least whether it was an enemy or an ally. You need to understand that not everyone will think like you, the world isn't what it seems. This is what will become of most of these lands in the coming time. You need to harden up Naruto…" he trailed off seeing a small drop prickle the corner of those beautiful eyes and pulled him into his chest for a comforting hug.

"Sensei-" the boy sniffled, before clutching his shirt tightly in his fists and burying his face into his chest in agony when he finally let it all sink in his heart and accepted the truths in it.

"Kindness will only lead you into despair, and finally to death in the coming times children. This scouting mission was a choice I had to make, to let you see this, or not if I believed you truly were ready. But I want you kids to be ready for anything, for I will not always be around when what awaits us is truly upon our heads. We will be short on manpower, and quite possibly, me going with you on missions will be scarcer than ever before. So promise me, that you will always be ready to do what it takes when the time calls for it…" he asked seriously, and got a small nod from the sniffling boy in his arms and glanced back to see his other two students crying too and nodding in tears while wiping their runny noses before he motioned for them to come to him with an open arm.

He coddled all of them in his arms. Kissing their heads gently and breathing out a tired sigh while letting the three children…no shinobi now, crying their hearts out in his arms.

For what it was worth, he was glad to be their teacher even if he was the one who had to make them see this. But he won't let them die just because they weren't ready or froze up on the field like the countless others who died each day out in the world.

He loved these idiots too much for that.

* * *

 **A few days later…**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

The path leading through towards the great walls of the village hidden in the leaves could be seen upon the horizon by our favorite group of shinobis who had now taken a slow and serene walking pace to cover the rest of their distance in a comfortable silence.

Sasuke couldn't help but notice how serious these four had become in the past few days ever since their last scouting mission. It tore him up to not see them as lively as before, even if their antics returned a few times in between when they forgot all about it, it was still different from before.

Their eyes were different than before.

"Welcome back to the village Sasuke-sama…" the elder Sarutobi gave a curt nod to the gate guard as he signed his team in who stood silently behind him.

He turned around, looking at the three curious eyes waiting for him to go on while they followed him in for the reporting process.

Not today…

"Go on home you three, I'll take care of the report to the Hokage. Get some proper rest and sleep, you deserve it." his tone suddenly changing into a warm and fatherly one, he patted each of his genin's heads getting small smiles from them before they nodded and walked off towards their homes.

Sasuke watched them go and himself turned his eyes around towards the middle of the village, straight upon the largest structure residing there and his feet started making way to his destination.

* * *

 **Hokage Tower**

* * *

 **Hokage Office**

* * *

This time the jounin instructor of Squad seven didn't bother to use **Shunshin** to get to his destination, instead taking the classic way by feet and walked through the hallways of the tower while getting several smiles and nods of recognition from everyone around him. The receptionist at the table outside of the main office smiles seeing him come towards her.

"Sasuke-sama, Hokage-sama is a bit busy right now but if you can wait for a few minutes…" her words trailed off when he walked past her without even noticing her presence in the first place. He raised his fist and gave a couple of knocks only to hear an annoyed voice stating he was busy from behind the door.

"It's me." he stated simply, getting a moment of silence from the inside while he waited outside patiently and took this time to light up a cigar upon his lips.

"Come in." came a tired answer from the inside and he twisted the door knob before closing the door shut behind him and left a gaping and baffled secretary behind him.

His eyebrow rose in surprise when he saw Tobirama sit on the couch with a cup of tea instead of taking his usual seat while his eyes were closed. He pulled out a chair and Tobirama didn't even bother opening his eyes to look up at his guest and took another sip of his tea.

"They did it." Sasuke spoke simply, taking the first initiative to break the silence that had befallen the room with his presence.

"I see…" Tobirama replied, taking his last sip and putting aside his cup to focus all his attention upon his friend.

"All of them?" came his question straight after the first one, and got a simple nod from Sasuke. He hummed in thought, taking in the man's reply and running it through his head before giving a tense nod.

"Very well." Tobirama spoke curtly, making his friend put down the written report contained within a scroll being placed upon the scroll holder over his desk.

"Don't give them any missions for a week, I request-" he was cut off in between his tired plead when Tobirama raised his palm to make him fall silent.

"I'm not going to…" his ever stoic voice stated matter of factedly, while Sasuke merely raised a curious eyebrow. Tobirama stood up, walking to his desk and pulling out the last drawer within his desk that contained some scrolls and pulled out one of them, throwing it to the elder Sarutobi who caught it deftly within his palms.

"What's this?" Sasuke asked, flipping the cigar in his lips to the left side in order to get a better view of the scroll that held the seal of Iron Country placed upon it.

"Read it." Tobirama simply said, his tone dismissive and Sasuke knew he won't get anything more from the man. Tobirama walked to the window in his room, his hands held behind his back while he gazed at the village he had sworn to protect with stern and stoic eyes.

Sasuke unfurled the scroll upon his lap, his eyes moving from left to right with each skip through of a sentence. With each word his eyes widened, his face showing an expression of pure disbelief when he ended reading it completely. He glanced up at Tobirama, now understanding why he had handed him the scroll to read in the first place.

"You can't be serious!" his incredulous voice asked the man who didn't even move a muscle to show he was paying any heed to his friend's words. Though Sasuke knew better.

"Kumogakure no sato is proposing to settle the skirmishes upon our borders once and for all by having a meeting between myself and the Raikage. It is only logical to make a move such as this…" his recital of words etched upon the scroll was cut off by an irate Sasuke.

"It's a trap you dumb ass!" Sasuke growled, his temper finally kicking in while Tobirama turned to glance him with a raised eyebrow with his left eye and turned back to watch the village almost instantly. He was the only one who he would let these actions slide, for he had been with him for far too long to remember and he owed him his life from the countless times he had come through for him.

This was why he had been the only one who he would go for counsel upon that matter. He trusted him enough to be blunt and honest with it, and to have a safeguard for any rash decisions he himself might be prone to make in a situation as precarious as this.

That was completely unacceptable to a man who prided in perfection above all else, thus why, here he was.

"Tobirama…" Sasuke hissed in a low whisper, catching his shoulder to turn him forcefully for meeting his gaze, when the words died down within his throat. The man's eyes weren't the lifeless or emotionless ones he had remembered seeing for as long as he could remember, they looked so tired and defeated as if he had accepted an unavoidable fate, a grim one at that.

"This is a trap, you know it then-" Tobirama caught his hand and pulled it off his shoulder only to give a tired shake off his head.

"I know it's a trap Sasuke…" he finally drawled out, he hadn't been a Kage for so long to pick on berries. The scent of a trap was clear as a day to him as well.

Sasuke was speechless, he couldn't for the life of him wonder why the hell he was even considering going to this facade of a peace meeting in the first place then.

Tobirama turned around, Sasuke was about to continue his rant when he saw the man's hands behind his back closely this time. His knuckles were clenched, nerves fleshed out upon his skin from the pure pressure he was exerting while holding himself back from doing something reckless to take out his temper.

Sasuke put a hand upon his shoulder yet again, this time one of understanding and compassion with none of the anger, while his eyes contained a worried shine within them for his old friend.

"What's the matter Tobirama? What aren't you telling me?" he finally asked and saw Tobirama's emotional mask finally crack. His eyes narrowed in on him, the pure cold fury contained within them not lost to him. But he knew it wasn't directed at him and didn't even so much as flinch when a pulse of pure chakra coated around the Kage and cracked up the ground beneath them.

The whole tower experienced the pure hatred and killing intent that Tobirama let lose when he raised his fist up and any other man would have been running for cover right at that moment had they been in Sasuke's shoes.

But Sasuke wasn't any man. The Kage brought his fist down, the arm passing by Sasuke harmlessly and made contact with the table behind him.

The wood buckled, before splinters cracked up and the scrolls were raised up in the air by a feet from the pure shock-wave his fist created upon impact.

"They have them…" he whispered a but loudly, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead as his nerves were riled up which was quite unlike him. He didn't shout, and Sasuke had never seen him shout in all the years he had known him.

But this was as close as he had seen Tobirama ever come to nearly as close as shouting, the matter was quite serious from the way he was holding himself back, albeit only slightly.

"They have Misa and Roku, they have my children Sasuke. They have my Tsuna's parents with them…" he finally drawled out in all his pure and unadulterated righteous fury while Sasuke's eyes widened in horror.

But he couldn't for the life of him think how they had gotten their hands on them. After all they weren't field shinobi, instead were medic nins by profession and preferred to work at the hospital rather than on the battlefield to be able to stay close to family while still helping people as much as they could.

"They had gone to Suna, for some rare herb picking, needed urgently for a surgery at the hospital." Tobirama answered, picking upon his thoughts in a moment. Sasuke pursed his lips, his eyes going from understanding to one of contemplation within a second.

He ran the scenarios through his head, when one thing didn't quite click in place.

"Then the scroll…" he asked and Tobirama nodded at his acute deduction, he would have asked about the same thing himself, had he been the one standing in his place.

"Was found on the borders of Suna and Konoha. With these…" he pulled out two leaf headbands and one from Kumo, while Sasuke understood everything now.

It was a missive to draw him out, this in itself was an act of war which could be taken as a straight threat to the Kage, and to Konoha if this should ever be heard by the shinobi council.

"What are you going to do then?" Sasuke finally asked the million dollar question and Tobirama fell down on his chair tiredly, his chakra disappearing along with the small wash of killing intent disappearing from existence.

"What do you think I'm going to do?" he asked him as if he were stupid, and Sasuke caught his shoulders forcefully while looking at him with stern eyes.

"Tobirama you aren't thinking straight. Just think about this clearly, it's a trap. You are allowed only a single bodyguard while the Raikage will be there with god knows who and how many. For all we know…" he finally drawled out, making Tobirama's eyes narrow in dangerously on his trusted friend, as if challenging him to continue what he was about to say. But Sasuke was undeterred this time.

"For all we know, Misa and Roku are dead Tobirama." he finally let the truth out and Tobirama slapped his hand away harshly when his words sunk in. A pit of dread formed within his gut at the realization he was trying to hide from was being slapped straight onto his very being.

"But there is the chance that they are-" his words were cut off when a loud voice rang within his office.

 _ **SLAP!**_

Tobirama looked at Sasuke with a slight widening of his eyes, not at all believing what had just occurred. He rubbed his stinging red cheek in disbelief, while Sasuke pulled back his outstretched hand with a firm look etched within his eyes.

"The condition was met." Sasuke merely stated flatly, Tobirama's eyes widened ever so slightly in realization of the hidden meaning behind those words. He himself had given him permission to do so, if the man ever felt he was going to do something that wouldn't benefit anyone other than his own selfish desires.

If ever he was about to do anything reckless.

"You are being reckless old friend…" Sasuke spoke tiredly, crouching down on one knee and throwing his cigar aside. Clearly in no mood for it today. Tobirama let out a humorless chuckle when the realization set in on himself and Sasuke looked at him worriedly.

"I know." he finally stated, as if it were as clear as water and Sasuke was growing ever more worried for his friend by the minute.

"But this is something I have to do…" he spoke, his laughs ceasing only for the serious gaze to remain within his eyes. Sasuke was about to say something when he spoke something that made all his words rile out of his mind in the blink of an eye.

"I won't be able to face my family if I didn't, I won't be able to look Hashirama in the afterlife Sasuke. This time I have to be reckless." he finally spoke the truth, thowing all logic aside for what came before everything within his heart and Sasuke held his serious gaze with his own for but a moment. Both exchanging much more than words could ever hope to achieve within a simple gaze of their eyes, and Sasuke knew in that moment that no matter what he said, he was going to go through with this.

"This is going for a personal vendetta Tobirama, and I don't like it, not one bit." Tobirama clenched his jaw shut tight to keep his rebuttal to himself, but it was a losing battle before Sasuke continued on to end his point.

"So be it." the elder Sarutobi finally got out, Tobirama looked at his friend surprised and shock etched clearly within his eyes.

"I'll accompany you to the summit myself. I don't trust anyone else to look after your old wrinkled self other than myself." he spoke firmly when Tobirama shook his head.

"I want you to act as the Kage in my stead should anything happen to me Sasuke…" his words were cut off when he saw the stern look his friend provided him with.

"You aren't going to die now, that is a fact. We have far too much to live for than to throw it all away by taking the easy way out and die on the people who look up to us. Install a state of emergency, hand your powers over to the shinobi council until we return to make you take back this chair. Tell them of the summit, but keep the abduction to yourself, they don't need to know about it quite as of yet. We will come back Tobirama, I don't feel like dying right now." he stated flatly, but those words moved Tobirama than any other could ever have. The spark of life returned within his eyes in a second.

His hand raised and clasped his old friend's hand firmly within a manly shake to test their strengths in an airborne arm wrestle, just like they used to have some in the old times. Their nerves bulged and muscles became defined while both let their lips twitch upwards in unison.

"Till the end then…" Tobirama spoke up, getting a firm nod from his friend

"Till the end old friend. But it is far from the end right now…" he spoke sternly to make his point clear as a bell and Tobirama gave him a firm nod in affirmative.

"We leave the day after tomorrow, I'll inform the council of this new update tomorrow." the Kage replied and Sasuke nodded his own affirmative and turned around to leave while popping in a new cigar upon his lips, now that all was out of the way.

"You do that, I'll inform my team of our absence then…" his voice muffled from the stick in his mouth, while it suddenly died out with a hiss of steam as soon as he lit it up, only to glance back an annoyed glare at an amused Tobirama who had his arms crossed with a raised eyebrow, that looked as playful as one you could get from the stone cold Senju.

"Those things will kill you one day…" he pointed out pointedly, and Sasuke chuckled with a humorous nod.

"But not as fast as you would, you accursed Senju…" he retorted back equally playfully, only to get a slight smirk from Tobirama.

"Now go, before I take you in for insubordination to your Kage…" Tobirama's dismissive voice retorted, not to let him have the last word in this time and Sasuke merely disappeared in a small flicker of flames a second later.

Tobirama's eyes landed upon a map of the elemental nations place within the glass of his desk and he couldn't help but think how many times he would be seeing this, when the inevitable was finally upon them.

 _When war was upon finally them…_

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : There is the next chapter. Hope you all liked the update and all. Well, the sparks are being flamed and the full blown inferno will be let out in the next chapter. As for the many complaints I have garnered regarding the effects to killing, it differs from each author's perspective as to how he wants to represent it. I merely iterated it as I felt it should go so no offense if it didn't meet your expectations. I can't please everyone myself. The delay in chapter is much to be apologized for but the lengths I write for this story are a bit tough since my exams were up. I had about 5k ready before them and it took me this long just to finish it. Well, enough about that.**_

 _ **Leave reviews and comments as to how you liked it, for I have to add that this plot is all original and I am absolutely not taking any influences from anywhere whatsoever.**_

 _ **Until next time keep reviewing (if you do want those quick updates) and reading. Ja Ne ;)**_


	9. Sparks

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Note :- Before I move on I have to clarify some points of mistakes on my part that have been pointed out to me and which I will be rectifying in the near future but this note is for all those who have already read through it and are confused about those parts.**

 **I happened to have mentioned Tobirama as Tsunade** **'s grandfather in a previous chapter, that was a mistake on my part. She is his grandniece and I wrote out that mistake in the flow of the chapter, so I thank you all for pointing it out to me. But I meant for it to be as a symbol as to how much he cared about her, but since it is confusing so many who go into all the technical parts of the story, I wanted to give a prior clarification to that particular point.**

 **Misa and Roku mentioned in the previous chapter are Tsunade's parents a.k.a. Hashirama and Mito's children whom Tobirama considers almost as close to their own children.**

 **One mistake that was completely unintentional was my mentioning of the Sandaime Raikage in a previous chapter that a nice reader pointed out in a review as being weird. Right as of this moment, the Nidaime reigns since the time-line is different, so please do keep that in mind and forgive me, for I do digress, but these chapters are all from me and not beta'd so you guys are the ones who point out any flaws I miss out on my re-reads and I'll try and fix as many as I possibly could as soon as I get the chance but until then keep these few points in mind.**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Time-skip Two Days later…**

* * *

 _CLINK…CLINK…CLINK…_

The sound of metal clinking with metal rang throughout the Hokage Office, the sounds ringing off while Tobirama Senju put on his battle armor over his usual black and blue clothes.

He hadn't worn it in quite some time now, not that it made him feel any better wearing it today.

But desperate times called for desperate measures.

And he wasn't taking any chances today.

He went for his hip pouch, strapping it onto his back and rolling up the bandages upon his thigh for strapping the leg holster. Finally, his palm rested upon the blade-less hilt of the **Raijin no Ken** , he picked it up, looking at it sadly for but a moment before sliding it back and clicking it in it's own personal holster wound upon his hip horizontally across his back.

He wasn't a man to shy away from a challenge to a battle, not that he was careless enough to charge blindly like a headless chicken into an ambush in the first place like he was going to do today.

But the stakes he had been dealt today had been far too high, for even if the slightest chance of his children returning to safety rested within his reach, he couldn't afford to lose it no matter what.

Not today.

Not ever.

"You ready…?" a voice drawled out from behind him, making him nod curtly without ever turning back to his old friend Sasuke, who in question, had his own version of a brown battle armor donned upon him to match the Senju's blue one.

Tobirama put down his leg, turning around to face his desk again, while placing the face plate with the Leaf insignia on his forehead that matched the one Sasuke donned and both nodded to each other in unison.

Both Legendary shinobi, armed to the teeth would have been enough to have most of the people cowering before their might with mere glances alone right at that moment.

Not many possessed the gall to say they could stand before their mere presence in those outfits without feeling at least the slightest bits of intimidation from their mere presences, not when they were out to do whatever it took to get the job done.

"Let's go." Tobirama stated in his usually flat and blank tone, walking up to Sasuke and clasping his friend's shoulder within his palm. He looked into Sasuke's questioning eyes and knew what he wanted to ask in but a moment, like always the Sarutobi clan head not needing to voice out his doubts whatsoever to his comrade in arms.

"I'll **Hiraishin** us to the borders of Iron Country…" upon another raised eyebrow, he elaborated further. "…we can't be going on by foot and have us getting ambushed by some stupid scheme beforehand." he explained in detail, getting a satisfied nod from Sasuke.

He knew what the Kage was trying to do without even needing to think upon the matter, his experience in battle didn't even need him to think about it.

Such were their deduction and instinctive reasoning skills after so many battles.

Saving his chakra by merely going until the borders, and then going on foot to have the necessary time to recover it back since the distance was so large and whether he would admit it or not, their primes were now long since past now.

Thus why, they always relied on experience and cunning much more these days, rather than brute force and tackles like they used to prefer in the older days of the warring eras and even those before in the First Great War.

"Let's go, we have some things to do and people to greet…" Sasuke muttered pointedly and both disappeared into thin air a moment later.

* * *

 **Near the borders of Iron and Fire…**

* * *

A small desolate village, consisting of nothing but simple farmers laid barren, devoid of any signs of life.

It seemed as if it had been eradicated by a plague years ago.

However, that was far from the truth.

It had been evacuated a few days prior by the order of the Nidaime Raikage who had sent his best shinobi to scour out the village.

Now however, the man sat in the house belonging to the village's leader of their farming union. The Raikage, second in fact, was a buffed up man. His hair dark brown with the usual dark tanned skin his country was famous for in many of it's inhabitants, coupled with amber eyes and several scars all over his body he was quite an intimidating sight to behold.

The scars in question were worn as his pride and joy of successful battles over the years. His right shoulder donned a bright black tattoo with the Kanji for 'Black Lightning' embossed permanently upon his skin.

He sat on the large leather chair, his cheek resting lazily upon his palm with several of his best shinobi settling in, around the room in several chairs, either sharpening their blades or checking on their equipment in nervous anticipation for the upcoming events that were about to unfold.

"Do you really think he'll come?" a gruff voice asked, the tone nowhere near as polite as it should have been while talking to a man of his stature, and could have even almost been passed as plain rude by some.

But he let it slide, for today that is…

"Yeah…, even an idiot can smell out that this is a trap…" another rude voice pointed out, but he paid them no heed and kept tapping his index finger upon the table while awaiting the small envoy from Leaf, that he had no doubt whatsoever would greet him with their gracious presence this fine day while he would welcome them with open arms.

Not the arms that one would embrace a guest with, but those used as tools for destruction that is…

"He'll come…" his manly deep voice stated confidently, not an ounce of a doubt laced within his words. The statement made all actions around the room stop momentarily, and look at him questioningly for a further elaboration upon that as each of them had their own share of doubts upon that matter."…those fools from the Leaf village are much to simple to read by anyone. They think with their hearts and feel with their brains, they would be dust by now if not for the rarity of bloodlines that accursed Hashirama Senju amassed within his walls before his death." he growled out, clenching the paper weight within his grip and cracking it into shimmering splinters with brute strength alone of his large fist.

This was his chance to weaken that spit of a land that had reigned supreme over them in the past war and clenched the title of being the mightiest of the shinobi villages for far too long than what he could tolerate, with temper as short as his it wasn't too long…

"But Kumo will reign supreme upon the whole might of the elemental nations, and with us at the top…, no one would dare question our militaristic ways anymore. Everything they hold precious will be ours, of that you all can be sure of." he spoke proudly while clenching the shiny dust he had just crushed out tightly to make his point.

The morale of his men increased with his each and every word and he couldn't help but smirk at seeing the fire and thirst for fight within their eyes.

He wouldn't expect anything less of them, he had nurtured his village like that for far too long than his predecessor's short tenure after having been declared deceased in the past war.

Kumo didn't coddle their shinobi anymore like those of the Leaf, they trained them like machines to be what they were born for.

To act as mere killing machines, if and when the times called for it.

There was no place for emotions over the battlefield.

Emotions were a hindrance that killed any and all shinobi in their lines of duty.

The strength of the village came first before anything.

These were the teachings his shinobi were drilled with each and very day of their lives, whether they be chunin, jounin or even genin for that matter…

"Sir the sensory barrier has picked up two very large chakra sources coming at us at a quick pace from down the border…" a man ran in with the news he had been waiting for a few days now.

The words were like an ointment to an itch within his ears and the Raikage smirked smugly, his finger stopping it's tapping motion when he saw all eyes turn to him.

Each one of them awaited their orders.

But he only had one.

"Let's go." he spoke loudly, before disappearing in a black bolt of lightning with all his men following suit with him moments later, with their own respective flickers…

* * *

 **Back with Tobirama and Sasuke…**

* * *

"You sense anyone Tobirama? We are almost there…" Sasuke asked in a hushed calm voice, hopping off another branch to the next making the stoic Senju stop abruptly and raise his hand in a half ram and seal while closing his eyes to concentrate.

His senses expanded in a second and just as he had expected to, chakra signatures started getting detected one by one like little beacons in a widespread grid he was scouring with his senses.

" _One… two… three…"_ he counted all the signatures he could sense, and counted them all before letting his eyes snap open with a serious gaze within them while he let his sensory grid down.

Sasuke looked at his friend expectantly, awaiting his answer with a clam patient gaze, and nodded back when the man gave an affirmative nod to let him know he had indeed sensed them out.

"Fifteen chakra signatures, elite jonin at the very least, and three chakra signatures Kage level…" he stated flatly and Sasuke let out an appreciative wolf whistle when both men crossed their arms silently, in unison.

"They aren't taking any chances…, eh? But what about Misa and Roku, you feel any of their signatures around?" the elder Sarutobi questioned, getting a negative shake of the head from Tobirama.

"Not yet, maybe they are holding them in a place that has their chakras suppressed…." Tobirama muttered in deep thought, making Sasuke look at him worriedly with a hint of sadness within his eyes.

He wasn't as optimistic as him right now, two pure blooded Senjus within Kumo's grasp?

The idea itself left only two points to be considered within his seasoned and veteran mind.

Either they were holding them in their midst, to use them and gain intel out of them as they pleased. Which he didn't think they would risk for the fear of Konoha invading someway to get them out and let such a surgical attack take place upon their walls by a threat, at such sensitive times no less.

Or they had done what he thought they had.

Killed them, and lured them into a trap to get rid of them and lower the Leaf's morals by cutting off the head that lead them all, and get them an advantageous position at the brink of war. This was what any militaristic village like Kumo would do.

Then there was the third and least hopeful solution that Tobirama was clinging his hopes to. That they had been kept hostage to be used as leverage against them for some reason, which was the most volatile of the options for anyone to take.

But for the life of him, he hoped his deduction would be proven wrong for the first time and the third option was the one they had taken.

"I do hope you're right this time as well Tobirama…" he muttered to himself and followed Tobirama's lead to the point where the three largest signatures were converging to.

Any other day he might have told him off at his idiotic hopes, but the matter was way too sensitive for him to poke the ever emotionless Senju on and about like he usually might have done.

The lush of the trees gave way, and both men hopped down upon the plain ground that had come in between of the large and dense forest.

Sasuke stopped, following the lead of Tobirama whose eyes had narrowed in on front of himself. Sasuke followed his gaze, and sure enough he too could now see someone making their way through the trees straight towards them.

Sasuke was surprised when he saw the Nidaime Raikage himself jumping down from the foliage that covered their gazed with two of his jounin flanking his sides.

But that wasn't what perturbed the elder Sarutobi.

It was the expression that was cemented, almost plastered upon the Lightning Shadow's face that baffled him to ends.

He held a warm smile.

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

"You didn't have to pay for that you know…." Tsunade mumbled, taking another lick from her snow cone while she walked down the streets of the Uchiha clan compounds with her usual chirpy smile etched upon her pouty pink lips.

Her hazelnut eyes turned to the side, only to see a hand making it's way towards her face before it poked her forehead just as usual, with a small tap of his index and middle fingers in a gentle touch.

She couldn't help but scowl seeing that same calm smile she had seen all but a hundred times now gracing his own lips, while she childishly rubbed her forehead with her free hand. She would have chortled down a reply for that annoying habit of his, that is, had she not been too immersed in her mint flavored cone in her hands, courtesy of some mindful grace from her baby blue eyed companion.

"So… what are… we gonna do today?" she asked in her ever curious voice, in between her licks of her now half gone cone.

Naruto's face turned to one of contemplation upon hearing her query. His hands that were already dug deep in his pockets dug even deeper, his head turning up to see the calm blue sky with just a single white cloud hovering in the clear day.

Tsunade watched on in innocent curiosity, his face showed her he was thinking hard and would come up with something awesome….

"Dunno…" he finally replied, a helpless shrug marring his shoulders.

She did the only thing she could.

She sweat dropped.

"'Kay…" she mumbled, looking on ahead and continuing on her job to devour her treat. She wasn't in the mood to blabber on and ruin their alone time on such a beautiful and serene day.

"YOSH!" a voice boomed behind them, and Naruto sighed tiredly already knowing what it was that was coming for him.

Tsunade turned around, taking her final bite of the cone and throwing the tissue aside only to see a green spandex, orange scarf and leggings wearing genin heading straight for her.

She slapped her hands together with a grin, making Naruto take a step back while gulping softly at that devious two faced grin he knew all too well.

The kunoichi cocked her fist back, the green monstrosity heading straight for the two flashing her a dazzling smile with open arms to embrace them both in a blissful hug….

 _ **BAM**_ _ **!**_

Duy rocketed back where he came from as soon as her fist made contact with that sparkly smiling face and Tsunade clapped her hands cheerfully.

"There that takes care of that. I've told him not to hug me like that…" she chirped up in a chipper tone, and it was Naruto's turn to sweat drop at her words.

He had no intention of incurring her wrath upon him, so he did the intelligent thing.

He started poking the unconscious Duy with a stick…

This was apparently the scene Sakumo walked into.

A happy and smug looking Tsunade, an unconscious Duy mumbling about youthful kunoichi in a dizzy state while Naruto was poking him with a stick.

He smiled, had he been someone else he might have been surprised but these were his weird friends that he couldn't get enough of.

So he began poking Duy with a stick too to join his friend in his youthful endeavor…

"Oi! Duy come on man wake up…" Sakumo shook him awake roughly. The boy in spandex blinked, and blinked again while his eyes tried to regain their focus.

"YOSH! SUCH YOUTH!" he boomed and both his teammates winced clasping their ringing ears. "YOU TRULY ARE THE EPITOME OF YOUTH TSUNADE-SAN!" he boomed making the cheeky girl giggle in affirmative at his words.

"Oi Duy, what were you rushing towards us for?" Naruto asked, once more making the boy blink innocently before his eyes widened in realization. He caught Naruto's shoulders, who had a feeling of foreboding that this wasn't going to end well for him…

Like it was anything new…

"I have found myself a new youthful teacher Naruto!" the boy spoke in a serious tone, and all genin surrounding him rose an arching eyebrow at his words.

Even Tsunade crouched down by their side and looked on at him in pure curiosity.

"The taijutsu master you were looking for Duy?" Sakumo asked in a skeptical tone, and sighed when the boy gave him a thumbs up coupled with his dazzling smile.

"Yes Sakumo, I have finally tracked the man down…" once more the boy's voice was gravely serious unlike his usual self showing them just how much it meant to the boy. His friends couldn't help but feel happy for him. "…but he has refused to teach me anything. He says I'm not worth teaching anything," the boy whispered, his voice downtrodden while he looked on at his lap with a saddened gaze.

"What? But why would he refuse you?" this time, it was surprisingly Tsunade who had voiced the question out loud.

The boy let out a loud sniffle, his eyes shimmering heavily and both Sakumo and Naruto looked ready to kill that bastard of a man who had broken up their friend. No doubt he must have said something really bad…

"He said I was unyouthful, in fact I had no youth at all…" he sobbed thickly, not noticing his teammates face faulting behind his back. Tsunade giggled happily, patting his head like she did with Kiara to make him look up at her tearfully.

"So what? You go and show him what you're made of!" she cheered him on, though her smile did turn a bit nervous seeing a new flame, literally in fact, ignite within his eyes.

"YOSH!" he boomed, going in to hug the girl who had fanned his flames of youth so much with merely a few words.

 _ **PLOMP**_!

Tsunade's sole met his face to stop him in his place, showing a good chunk of her flexibility at stretching her leg so far high while being crouched down upon her knees.

An imaginary breeze flew past them while they stayed in that position for a moment.

"No. Hugging. Me." she scolded sternly, and the boy did have the decency to turn a bit sheepish at his weird tendencies that tended to overtake him quite often.

"Let's go Duy…" he heard Naruto say, and turned to look at him with a lost expression plastered upon his face.

"Yeah let's show him what we've got. He shouldn't have underestimated a member of Squad Seven!" Sakumo cheered on and Duy smiled genuinely.

He really was glad that he had failed twice if that let him form a team with these guys.

It really was worth it in the end.

"Let's go then!" he boomed and ran off, his three friends following up close behind the boy who was leaving a trail of dust within his wake.

Naruto and Sakumo were a bit peeved when they had started getting nearer towards the outskirts of the village. But nonetheless they followed their friend, who hopped down a branch and pointed his finger at an abandoned looking estate smack bang in the middle of nowhere.

"This is the dojo he uses guys…" he got three nods from his companions who started making their way to the dojo's entrance.

Tsunade looked around, the place was quite cool now that she had a closer look at it. It was mostly open with an old building near it's center giving the residents plenty of room…

Her ponytail shrilled comically like an antenna while her eyes widened at the new sensation of something roaming around her hips. Her palm opened up and she twisted around on instinct, and sure enough the boys in front of her heard a loud noise that made several birds fly off from their resting places.

"HENTAI!" her shrilled scream and the loud slapping noise that echoed the surroundings made the three boys turn around to see Tsunade covering her hips with her hands while her face was flushed red from anger and pure embarrassment.

"Tsunade-" Naruto gulped when he saw her neck snap to him with an absolutely livid expression plastered upon her face. "…what happened?" he finally got out in an attempt to calm the girl down.

She pointed her finger to a smoking mess near the walls of the estate and all of them narrowed their eyes at the slightly twitching old man who had a stupid grin upon his face.

"SENSEI!" all of them were shocked seeing Duy crying anime tears while he tried to wake the dizzy old man up.

"That pervert is your sensei?!" her voice was incredulous and Duy gave a simple nod, sighing in relief that the man was okay. Naruto and Sakumo sighed too, though this one was one pointing to the hopelessness of the situation.

"Of all the people in the world, Duy you have the best luck of them all…" Sakumo's voice was laced with sarcasm that his teammate didn't pick upon.

"See, isn't he most youthful?" the two boys sweat dropped while Tsunade picked him up by his collar with a stern look in her eyes.

"You want this pathetic pervert as your teacher?" she got a nod in return and narrowed her eyes at the boy. "You're better off without him." she finally got out seeing the lecher finally standing up on his feet.

"Is this the fees you got me for your apprenticeship, then I accept?" the jovial elderly voice of the conscious man chirped up making her gain a tick mark on her head.

"You wish you old pervert, come on now. We are leaving." she pulled the boy along with her when another hand clasped her wrist only to see Naruto looking at her calmly while he met her livid gaze.

"Calm down Tsunade, this man is the real deal." his eyes were fixed upon the stupidly smiling old man who had just finished dusting himself off. Tsunade though looked at him incredulously but her retort was cut down by Sakumo's opinion on the matter.

"Yeah, he got behind us even when I had my senses expanded. And Naruto isn't half bad if someone approaches us so close, not saying you're a sensor like me too Tsunade." Sakumo's voice of reason caused her to blink in realization.

If they looked at it like that, it certainly was true. She hadn't sensed him out too, so he was good at concealing himself at least.

"Yeah give him a chance, he isn't half bad." Duy consoled her and she let him go with a pout now crossing her lips.

"Whatever, just keep him away from me." she mumbled at having herself singled out in the argument.

"I bet you wouldn't mind if Naruto did that…" a voice whispered in her ear out of everyone's earshot and the reactions were instant. Her cheeks turned beet red, and before she could say anything Sakumo was looking away and whistling innocently.

She clenched her fists and opened them, doing it a few times to calm herself down.

It just wasn't her day.

"What do you kids want?" the old man's voice turned seriously gruff, snapping all their attentions to him. "Aren't you the one I told off yesterday, now go don't waste my time anymore…" he shooed them away in a dismissive tone.

"Why don't you want to train him?" it was Sakumo who had voiced his question and the man stopped dead in his tracks. He looked on at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Because he isn't worth it." he simply stated, and Duy's shoulders slumped a little. Naruto's eyes narrowed in on the man's back before he too turned around and started walking away.

One thing that he hated with all his being, were people who looked down upon his friend without even giving him a chance to show what he was truly made of.

"Let's go Duy, you don't need a teacher who takes on students seeing their potential firsthand." his voice was simple, as if he were reading the weather.

Master Chen's eye twitched in annoyance at his words, those damned Uchiha's certainly did know how to tick a person off without even meaning to do so in the first place.

"Aren't you full of yourself?" the old man spoke up suddenly, meeting Naruto's lone turned eye with one of his own narrowed one.

The blonde continued on his way out ignoring the man's snide remarks completely.

"Wait." his voice was strict as if he was commanding him, nonetheless Naruto did stop and look at the man in the eyes.

The old man looked at him calculatingly, his words had strung a cord within his heart as much as he was loathe to admit it.

"Let's place a bet so as to speak…" Naruto rose an eyebrow, not quite getting what he meant but didn't say anything and let him continue to humor the man a bit. "…you spar with me. If you defeat me and show me how worthless I am, I'll teach that boy everything I know." he ventured in and Naruto nodded.

"And if I lose?" he knew the stakes were going to be something if he lost too.

"Then you apologize by bowing on your knees and saying I am a better teacher than any you'd ever find though I'll still take him on as an apprentice." his voice was mocking, but Naruto's face betrayed none of his thoughts.

To decline would be to dishonor his mother figure, the man he aimed to replace one day and the teacher who had helped them through the struggles as a genin until now, all of them who had ventured to get him to where he stood today.

Plus, his honor was on the line here too.

"You have a deal, but you apologize to Duy too if I lose." his friends merely watched on stupefied while the two shook hands on a deal and the man motioned for Naruto to follow him in.

"Naruto be careful, his taijutsu is said to be even greater than that of the Hokage himself…" Duy whispered, worried about his friend and Sakumo nodded too. He knew more than anyone, pride was something Naruto placed quite high in his life.

Tsunade just kept glancing at him worriedly, not that Duy's words were doing anything to lessen them in the slightest, but she knew he wouldn't back down no matter what she would try to convince him. He was even more stubborn when someone pointed a stake upon his pride and honor.

The group stepped into the dojo, looking around the wooden built room in appreciation at how well maintained it was, despite the age the house showed on the outside.

"Alright let's get started." the man spoke up joyfully, throwing aside his shawl cloth he had draped upon his shoulders to make them see his simple kimono with brown matching pants and wooden Kabuki sandals upon his feet.

Naruto simply unstrapped his sandals to take advantage of some tiptoeing maneuverability in the shiny floored confines of the dojo without having his sandals to slow him down, having already been in a simple white T-shirt and blue pants he didn't have any need for any further tinkering than that.

He hadn't expected to fight on their day off, but now he was quite sad at having to ruin these clothes here. His thoughts were broken off by the voice of his competitor.

"The rules shall be quite simple, you land a single clean hit on me and you take a win. You have till the sun goes down the horizon to achieve that feat." the man's joyful voice spoke, shocking the four to their cores.

"You can't be serious?" Tsunade asked in disbelief, but the man just smiled at seeing Naruto's narrowed and accusing eyes.

"That's nine hours, you seriously expect him to not even hit you once?" Sakumo too was stunned at the confidence, or blatant stupidity the man was spouting from his mouth.

No matter how strong his taijutsu was, Naruto was no slouch.

And that wasn't to say how lethal he could be if he decided to let out his Sharingan in battle, that he all but avoided on any fellow villagers if he could.

"We'll just see at the end of the day, now won't we?" he mocked them even further and Naruto's jaw clenched shut.

He spread his feet apart, his arms loosely in front of him to enter the first kata of the Uzumaki taijutsu style drilled into him by Mito.

It was a defensive style, only to be coupled with ninjutsu or especially with seals if the user was proficient enough.

He wanted to scout out if the man truly was as dangerous as Duy really believed him to be or was just blowing off hot air at nothing in particular.

His eyebrows shot up seeing the man's weird stance though.

His left leg was raised up in the air while he stood on his right toes, all the while his right arm lay lifelessly by his side with his left in front of him in a hitherto motion, taunting him for the first strike.

" _Is he mocking me?"_ he couldn't help but think, seeing the man putting a couple of his limbs to rest, just to show him how utterly worthless he was in his eyes.

"Come now, what are you waiting for?" the elderly man taunted further, and Naruto wasn't one to waste his chance of such a loosely held stance by his opponent.

His body shot straight for him at blazing speeds, his eyes focused only on taking that overconfident man out for the count as soon as possible.

He jumped up, twisting around his right leg he made a roundhouse kick for that lifeless arm he held by his side but the man saw it coming from a mile away.

His left palm came to intercept his kick, catching his calf within it with a slap but his arm didn't even so much as give a slight vibration to show it suffered some impact.

His hand squeezed his captured leg, and Naruto winced in agony at the vice grip that felt like some iron clippers had clasped him at the moment. He twisted his body upwards, raising his torso to his level to launch a punch straight at that wide open and lifeless shoulder that he wasn't looking to using anytime soon.

Master Chen merely hopped a bit aside to let it pass by him harmlessly in a slick motion and made Naruto over reach far more than he had intended to, though it did cause Chen to loosen his grip upon his leg.

Naruto seized the moment, and crouched down on the ground, ignoring the pain in his leg to swipe in a circle with his other leg to take the man's foot from under him. Chen once more hopped up a bit, deliberately waiting for the right moment and pointed his thumb down to land on Naruto's leg.

The blonde's eyes widened in agony upon feeling all his weight being concentrated on a single pressure point of his leg and he pumped up chakra to it to lessen the pain while enforcing it even further to withstand the brutal assault upon his calf bone.

He clenched his eyes upon feeling the pressure increase with a sudden piercing of chakra upon the point of contact, but the momentary loss of sight costed him dearly.

He barely saw the incoming sole for his chest and crossed his arms across it in a cross guard to take the full impact. A burst of chakra coupled with the man's inhumane strength launched him back, rocketing him straight to where his friends were sitting as spectators.

Tsunade and Sakumo moved aside on instinct to see Naruto rocket past them and straight into the wall behind them with a bang.

"NARU!" Tsunade's worried shout woke Sakumo from his stunned stupor and he too rushed towards his decommissioned friend who let down his cross guard slowly.

Naruto looked down at his stinging arms with a slight wince, which most probably contained some cracked bones but nothing lethal since he had enforced them with chakra before hand.

But for the life of him, he couldn't get them to stop shaking like dry leaves.

Such brutal strength, he hadn't ever faced such a brutal physical attack before in his life. Tsunade's soft hands clasped his forearms within them while they glowed a light green showing their sheen of medical chakra flowing within them.

"Kami, Naru there's cracks in your bones…" she whispered, her eyes glimmering with increasing worry seeing the swelling starting to appear within them, and that wasn't to say what his leg must have suffered from the blow he had dealt him earlier.

She glanced up only to be stunned at seeing his hair shadowing his eyes while his lips held a…

Smirk.

He caught her hands within his own, stopping her healing abruptly. She tilted her head to the side, only to meet the sight of his gaze.

Which weren't their baby blue counterparts they were a moment ago.

"I'm fine…" he started getting up, only to be pulled down by the girl who glared heatedly at him.

"You're not fine. Those are hairline fractures Naru, you shouldn't fight with them or you may complicate a simple swelling even further…" she admonished the boy who had his eyes fixed on the old man behind her.

She bit her lip seeing he wasn't even listening to her, even though she was lying a bit about his arms. But that man was too strong, she could see he would thrashed if he went along with this, he would lose and be beaten in that bet at the same time.

"Tsuna, let me go…" he removed her hands forcefully from his wrists. She wanted to stop him, but Sakumo pulled her back and shook his head in negative telling her to let it go for now.

Naruto cracked his neck, rubbing his arms to stop their slight shaking only to see his opponent holding an amused smile upon his face.

"You coming back for more? I didn't take you for being a idiot…" he mocked, which had no effect whatsoever upon Naruto causing his smug smile to slip a bit. The boy was as calm as they came and he couldn't help but loathe that unreadable calm expression upon his face.

The blonde wasn't even deterred, not in the slightest from his previous assault.

Naruto rushed him in a blur, not wanting to give him any more chances for a strike. His right fist went for his chin, for which Chen only leaned his head back at the last possible second. His left fist followed up while he tilted his head to the side to let it pass by him harmlessly, Naruto swiped his right arm to cleave the man's head off, but he hopped back to make some distance between them but Naruto was having none of it.

He jumped forward, once more giving him a roundhouse kick to his cheek which he once more caught in his palm.

His Sharingan flared, seeing his arm muscles twitch to indicate he wanted to twist and sprain it before the man had even made a move himself.

He followed up with his left leg, snaking it around the man's neck and pulling himself up to sit atop his shoulders in a flexible maneuver. His fingers clasped each other to make a double handed fist above his head that he started bringing down towards the man's head and end it once and for all.

But Chen, as if someone had ripped out his spine, fell down backwards like a snake causing Naruto to stumble and fall from his shoulders to dodge his left elbow by a hair's length from his cheek and roll back to maintain some distance.

Chen was quite impressed at the boy's skill, even though he still had quite a ways to go before he could beat him head on in a fight. He wasn't known as the best taijutsu master in the elemental nations for nothing.

But his eyes widened when Naruto stood up and changed his stance completely. His legs straight and wide, with his arms diagonally straight towards the ground with open palms facing Chen.

The Interceptor Fist.

Naruto crossed his arms in front of his chest, opening them and dropping down in the first kata of his unique style. He was wasting chakra by enforcing his limbs to endure the man's brutal assault with a defensive style, not it was time to go on the counter attack.

Anyone else would be troubled, but with his Sharingan he could predict and dodge the man's attack while exploiting the holes in between their bouts increasing his chances and time exponentially.

As much as he liked the Uzumaki stance, he was no Uzumaki nor was he a Senju. He didn't have their unnatural reserves or physical stamina to go defensively with huge chakra outputs for hours on end.

But he was an Uchiha, and his instincts were still unrivaled.

Chen's right leg made contact with the floor while his left arm sprung up to life which made Naruto smirk.

The man was now taking him seriously.

"Sakumo what's that stance, that isn't what Mito-Baa taught him…" Tsunade tugged his sleeve only to see Sakumo intently looking at the fight and barely paying attention to her words.

"Yeah, Naruto hasn't used this since our first spar in the Academy. He changed it completely after that, but I guess he was mastering it on his own in the meantime along with the one Mito-sama must have taught him…" he surmised his own thoughts while Duy couldn't help but look in admiration for his friend.

To think he had been mastering not one, but two stances was a feet in itself.

And on top of that, he was showing off his secret moves just for his sake.

Such youth!

All the more reason for his plan of making him his rival to come to fruition sooner than later.

Chen rushed in first this time, his arms blurring in to make painful strikes to Naruto, who now, much to his added surprise, started deflecting them efficiently as if he were a completely different person from a moment ago.

But even he had to admit the man was something else, there wasn't even a single opening in his completely lucrative stance that he could exploit, and that was saying something against his eyes.

They exchanged blow after blow, neither giving the other to lash out with Naruto…, now coupling his Sharingan, chakra enhancing to withstand his blows if he missed a dodge and increasing his speed as much as he could was able to stand toe to toe with the man rumored to have taijutsu prowess even greater than those of the Five Kage.

* * *

 _ **A few hours later…**_

* * *

Naruto was on his knee, his hair shadowing his eyes while his breathing ran ragged with sweat dripping from his face like water.

Chen smiled, a genuinely happy smile at having had such a good fight with a child who had truly done his ancestors proud, by coming as far as he had with a long since thought forgotten style that people didn't even talk about these days.

"Naruto stop it, it's enough." Duy called to his friend worry clear in his voice, Sakumo was barely holding himself back at seeing his friend in tatters at having endured such long straight hours of taijutsu for the sake of a friend.

Naruto's hand made it's way to his hair, waving them to shake off his blood rush and sweat and looked up with a smile. His Sharingan was no longer active, not having the chakra to keep it active any longer from the large bursts he had been letting out in between their exchanges to gain a slight edge.

But the man hadn't given in even in the slightest.

The last hour had been brutal, with the man finally pushing him back with offensive since his endurance was giving in upon him. Had it not been for the stamina training Mito had made him go through, he would have hit the floor unconscious two hours ago.

"Had you gone all out, you might have landed a hit child. " Chen's voice was warm, containing a hint of pride making Naruto smile tiredly.

His friends were looking at him as if Chen were an alien of sorts. Had he not seen how quick the blonde had been on his feet till now for hours on end?!

"So you noticed?" he asked in a rasped voice, his throat dry as a desert and got a small nod from Chen causing all eyes to go wide.

"What, you were holding back?!" Sakumo shouted in shock, not believing his ears but Naruto ignored him for the moment, too busy trying to catch his breath.

"Why did you hold yourself back though?" Chen asked, curiosity getting the better of him. The child had impressed him, it had been years since someone had impressed him as much as he had, he dared to say.

Naruto's vision was losing focus now, the adrenaline draining out as the rush of battle was over and his instincts were now now dulling and giving way for sweet numbness.

"I know my limits…" he whispered, his voice weak and Tsunade had finally had enough of sitting silently by the sidelines. She rushed closer to him, slipping down on her knees in an instant and not seeing Chen's wide eyes who didn't even have enough words to contain his shock at what he had heard.

Tsunade gushed over him, instantly scouring through his bruised and tattered body worriedly. His forearms had turned a faint blue from enduring all the blocks throughout their bouts in the last hour, with nothing protecting them whatsoever unlike how he had them wrapped in a thick coating of medical tape for usual when he was in his shinobi gear.

"Hey…" she hushed him in a soft whisper when he tried to tell her he was okay, cupping his cheeks upon seeing his half lidded and unfocused eyes when his face finally plopped upon her chest and his breathing evened out into soft purrs.

He finally gave into the sweet nothingness of pure exhaustion.

"Baka…" she clenched his head in her arms tightly, worry etched upon her face. Even after all that he still hadn't landed a single blow on that damned old coot.

Chen stood behind her, a gentle smile seeing the girl holding him as if he were the most fragile thing in the world right now.

It didn't take a genius to see the pure adoration and care she had for him in her eyes.

" _He had already realized I was far from his reach and he would have reduced his endurance had he pushed himself to pull out all his stops. Even in the heat of battle and all my taunts, he had the mind to think his situation rationally and act upon it accordingly, the boy is something else alright…"_ Chen's thoughts were cut off seeing Sakumo and Duy standing behind Tsunade a bit lamely.

They too wanted to check up on him but both knew how Tsunade was when it came to moments like these, and vice-verse with the bot she had clenched in her arms protectively like a mama bear.

Chen walked up to take the boy from her and offer him some of his natural healing ointments only to be stopped abruptly by Sakumo, who looked at him as if he were the one who was stupid.

"Don't…" the elder man's words died down hearing that comment and he fell silent while pursing his lips.

But he shook off the grip and went to help the boy who was clutched protectively in Tsunade's arms like a little baby.

Chen was stunned when Tsunade glanced dangerously at him, as if a predatory look had washed over her gentle face. Her arms gave the sleeping boy a soft squeeze of reassurance while her aura was downright murderous.

"Stay away from him…" she whispered dangerously, and Chen's eyes softened seeing how beaten up the boy really was, now that he was still and up for him to see. No wonder the girl was angry at him for his condition and he understood now why that silver haired gaki had tried to stop him.

She truly would have lashed out had he taken even a step closer to her, he had no doubt seeing the pure and unadulterated fury within her eyes.

Senju's and Uchiha's were rarely angry…, truly angry.

But when they were, the wisest choice was to stay out of their way no matter who they were.

Hashirama and Madara both had left two historical instants upon the world to show them what they were capable of if ever pushed into a corner.

And Kami be kind, the world still shook in terror upon remembering those two events in their lives.

Their bonds were a deep ones indeed.

Tsunade loosened her grip on the boy in her arms and turned around, letting him lean on her back and picked him up piggy back style with a hop. His cheek rested gently upon her shoulder while he slept like a log and would probably do so for a while now.

She looked back at Sakumo and Duy apologetically for leaving like this, who smiled understandingly and nodded, already knowing she wanted to apologize for leaving like this. But they couldn't blame her for it.

The two boys followed suit and started following her out, having nothing remaining here anyways.

"Come back tomorrow for your first lesson…" Chen's gruff voice made them stop mid-step before they continued on. "…and I'm sorry for my behavior to you." he mumbled, clearly a bit embarrassed at having to do this.

Sakumo shook his head in amusement and pulled Duy out before the boy started hugging his new master to death or made him change his mind by letting him live after that.

Tsunade walked out the forest, making her way through the busy streets of the residential parts of the civilian side all the while earning strange glances from everyone around her.

She couldn't care less for them right now.

Her feet took her to the only place she could think of right now.

* * *

 **Uzumaki clan compounds…**

* * *

"Coming….!" Mito's muffled voice came from behind the door, before it clicked open to reveal the red haired woman in her usual robes standing there.

Her violet orbs widened upon seeing the state of her apprentice lodged on her grand daughter's back, out like a light before she saw Tsunade's eye prickle with a lone tear in the corner of her tear duct.

"Baa-chan, heal him…" she whispered softly, barely holding back the choke that threatened to take over her voice. Mito's eyes softened upon hearing her little sniff and she motioned the girl in, hurrying her into the room she had reserved for Naruto years ago.

The little Senju heiress laid him down on the futon Mito laid out and sat on her knees by his side while Mito went to gather some towels to wipe his skin clean off those scratches and little wounds.

Tsunade couldn't help but let the slight giggle that escaped her lips when she looked on closely at his face.

He was still smiling in his sleep, no doubt he had enjoyed that brutal assault of a spar back then.

"Baka…" she broke into a fit of sniffling giggles, he was just so damned reckless.

Not once had his eyes or will wavered in that spar even when he was being beaten into the ground in the end. He was still getting up each time, countering and trading blows as if nothing had happened to him in the first place.

And even though she had mostly caught the sight of that small Uchiha symbol on the back of his neck, she knew he must have been smiling the whole time.

That idiot was too damn stubborn for his own good sometimes, not that she was any…ARGH!

As loathe as she was to admit it, she wouldn't have it any other way no matter what she told him when he was awake.

Her hand cupped his cheek, a soft gaze now looking upon his tired sleeping face with just a little smile etched across her lips. She leaned down, not knowing what had come over her.

Her lips hovered over his own, she could feel his gentle breaths tickling her lips and her eyes became half lidded. She moved in closer, nearly pressing her lips over his own…

"Alright?" Mito's voice cut through the silence of the room before trailing off in question seeing Tsunade's flushed cheeks and stiffly sitting posture.

"Is something wrong Tsunade?" she couldn't help but ask seeing the strangely acting girl, and looked on confused when the girl barreled past her side in a flash of golden.

The red haired woman blinked a couple of times before sitting down by the boy's side to start healing him.

Her grand daughter could be so…

Her eyes went wide in shock seeing a small brush of pink lipstick on Naruto's cheek, just near the corner of his lips.

Her eyes softened and she giggled herself, now understanding everything and wiped his cheek clean with a wet towel.

"Looks like I disturbed her…" she spoke in giggles, oh young love… she mused happily…

She wouldn't let the girl know she had come across the mark she had left on her possession.

Just thinking about it like that made her laugh. How much could she tease her?

Or maybe not. She would just let the girl sort it all out, she knew how big of a klutz Tsunade was in matters like these and it could be a negative impact on her if she were to make her realize she had been caught red handed in her attempt. But it made her heart warm that the girl was falling for a boy who would be worthy to claim her heart in the future.

He would be a fine man for her little Tsunade, after all she had practically raised him for these past years. Tobirama would certainly throw a fit when the time came for the two of them to embrace their feeling completely for each other.

Oh the joys of watching from the side…

* * *

 **Back with Tobirama and Sasuke…**

* * *

"Hokage-dono, it's such a pleasure that you made a trip all the way here…." the Raikage greeted warmly, not that it did anything to fool the two in front of him.

Both Sasuke and Tobirama glanced at each other, before narrowing their eyes on the large buffed up man in front of them dangerously.

"How could we have refused such a warm invitation?" Sasuke asked sternly, his voice as emotionless as the one that would have made his companion proud any other day.

But today wasn't one of those days.

The Raikage's smile slipped for a moment before it rushed back even wider than before, finally turning into an amused laughter that echoed throughout the silent clearing around them as if they had just cracked the joke of this century.

"Where are they?" Tobirama asked, his voice barely above a whisper. But the Raikage's booming laugh ceased in an instant upon hearing his icy cold words, even his guards stiffened seeing his lifeless eyes and expression that would have made a corpse shiver in his coffin.

"Ah you must mean our two guests…" at Tobirama's narrowing of eyes he trailed off before continuing on undeterred. "…they are back in the forest under the watch of my finest jounins." just with those simple words, Tobirama felt as if a mountain's worth of weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Relief washed all over his eyes before he nodded curtly, doing well to hide all hints of happiness he was feeling on the inside.

Sasuke though wasn't as hyped as his Senju comrade beside him. Something just wasn't clicking right, if it weren't for the massive army of Kumo's finest that the Raikage had assembled, it was his expression that was sealing the deal in his mind.

Something was off, and it was rubbing him the wrong way.

But he digressed at the moment, staying silent and letting events unfold naturally for now. It was too late for retreats, not that there were going to be any in the first place no matter the outcomes.

"Shall I escort you to them?" the Raikage asked, and Tobirama nodded curtly. Sasuke clenched his jaw shut quite tightly, Tobirama was clearly not in his senses right now. The thing he despised the most in the world was happening to him right now. He wasn't even sensing how many things weren't making any sense whatsoever right now.

His emotions had completely clouded his mind.

Sasuke eyed the two guards with the Raikage, who stepped behind him while one stayed with the Raikage in front of them in a pincer-three-point scouting position. His fingers twitched for a kunai but he held himself back, just for Tobirama's sake and walked with their new 'escorts' into the middle of the forests or whatever trap they had laid out for them.

The jounin walking by the Raikage's side glanced at his leader for a second before smirking and looking on ahead at the path that lay in front of their eyes.

The Raikage had a bloodthirsty smile plastered on his face, and he knew the reason why. Soon enough those Leaf trash would know it too.

For a few minutes, the only sound in the forest seemed to be the occasional chirping of birds, coupled with the soft crunching of leaves beneath their sandals with each step they took.

"How much longer?" Sasuke finally asked to break the thick silence that had befallen the party of six and Ei glanced at him with a lone eye for a mere second, that felt like an hour to the elder Sarutobi before looking on ahead.

"We are almost there." his voice was curt, quite unlike the warm voice a few moments ago and huge bells were going off in Sasuke's head. He was barely holding himself back from cleaving that bastard's head off, it would only take a moment and all of this charade would be ended in a swift strike.

But Kami damn it, Tobirama was completely out of his zone and he had to keep his head leveled.

Suddenly, they entered a clearing devoid of trees for a radius of ten meters, with nothing but a lone pine tree in the middle of the circular clearing.

"We are here." Ei whispered simply, and Sasuke's heart skipped a beat when his eyes narrowed in on a small patch of grass near the base of the Pine tree.

The grass patch had turned black.

He closed his eyes, and looked down for a moment. His teeth were gritting themselves, almost grinding them with each other while his fists were shaking as he clenched them shut tight enough for his nails to dig in his flesh and draw out some blood.

"Where are they?" Tobirama looked around completely oblivious to the agony that had befallen his friend, finding nothing but trees all around them. He finally fixed his eyes on the Raikage's back who was grinning like a psychopath out of his eyesight.

"Why, they are in front of you _Lord Hokage_ _!_ _"_ Tobirama's eyes narrowed upon his loud response, but he looked on ahead at the Pine tree. His eyes glanced sharply when the Raikage raised his hand put of sheer instinct, but followed the finger the large man was pointing to the top of the tree.

His neck slowly raised, the Raikage turning around to see what he had been waiting to see all this time for a week, no scratch that, for years now.

Tobirama's eyes traveled through the foliage of the tree, before they reached the top and suddenly, in a twist of reaction his face went blank.

The scene was anything but the nightmare that he had been expecting ever since news of their capture had hit him a week ago.

Misa and Roku were tied to the top branch with barb wire clenched tightly around their wrists. Their clothes were in tatters, while bruises, cuts and several signs of inhumane torture; including discoloring of skin, most probably the result of poison torturing methods were upon clear on their bodies.

Bloody streaks ran down the bark of the tree, obvious signs of blood trails, dripping for hours on end while their lifeless bodies must have been tied there for Kami knows how long. Out for the vultures to dip their beaks into, or for the predators and scavengers of the jungle to dig their fangs and claws in their cold flesh.

" _Tobirama, you look after my children alright? You're the only one I trust their lives with, Mito is just too much like me to be considered as reliable as you…"_ Hashirama's laughing voice, along with his stupidly grinning face flashed into his mind when realization settled in upon his mind.

His eyes widened to epic proportions, as the flashbacks of Roku's childhood, to finally the day he had married Misa flashed across his eyes and a lone tear prickled the corner of his eye.

For the first time in decades, his eyes started brimming with tears.

The memory of a weak and tiredly smiling Misa, sitting in the hospital bed flashed in his mind. His daughter in all but blood, holding a little blanketed bundle with a soundly sleeping spark of life within her arms.

The warm feelings he had felt upon taking that bundle of blanket from her, when she had tried to hand a little Tsunade to him instead of a violently protesting Hashirama strangled by Mito's chains while she had laughed her heart out at the fuming man who was crying hysterically at not being able to be the first one to hold her was still the happiest memory he had cherished in his heart for so long.

Finally the dam broke, and like rivers, his tears flowed down his cheeks.

He had failed.

He had failed his brother, he had failed Mito, he had failed Misa and Roku.

But above all, he had failed Tsunade and Nawaki.

How would he stand in front of her? Tell her how powerless he was while he still breathed breath and buried her parents right in front of her eyes? How would he tell little Nawaki when that toddler would ask where his Mummy and Daddy were and when they were coming back home?

"Ahahaha! Finally I've done what countless others have failed to do before me…" Raikage laughed a full blown laugh seeing tears drop from Tobirama's chin and wet the grass near his feet. All the while his horror stricken face stared at the two hung bodies on the tree in a trance. "…I've broken the iron will of the Nidaime Hokage, the man said to have absolutely no emotions, cries in front of us like a pathetic infant all due to the fruit of my efforts, and look finally he realizes his place..." he chuckled hilariously, and Sasuke shook in pure fury when Tobirama fell down on his knees with the last of his words.

But no one had expected what happened next.

The two jounin behind Tobirama, going in to restrain the fallen man flew back like rag dolls and straight into the trees behind them with large slams to their heads.

The ground around Tobirama cracked, his body bursting forth with a sheen of purple chakra that exuded a pressure upon the clearing, like none it's residents had ever felt in the entirety of their lives.

Sasuke turned to Tobirama, a look of startled disbelief etched upon his face only to be shocked even further seeing Tobirama's violent change of expressions.

He had been his friend for more that three decades now, and never before had he seen Tobirama angry.

But right now he was beyond angry, or even furious for that matter.

 _The man was absolutely livid._

The insane blood-lust he was letting out, made the three teams of jounins shiver in their hiding spots, upon seeing the flashes of deaths pass through their visions.

The aura of the man was making them feel as if they were back in their genin days again.

He was showing them the power of a true Kage right now and the difference between their strengths had never been made more pronounced that this ever before.

Tobirama's hand raised, coming towards his chest at blazing speeds that made the Raikage and the jounin still standing by his side jump back on instinct from the delirious man on instincts of self defenses within their veteran subconscious minds.

His palm clenched the metal armor protecting his chest, clenching it's alloy into a twist, as if it were made of simple cloth and the bindings near his shoulders broke making the armor fall lose from his right shoulder.

He tore apart it's other end by pulling it forward as if it were made of simple cotton and threw it aside swiftly.

He put his foot forward with a small thump that was as clear as a bell to everyone in the vicinity, and his chakra spiked with his movements when his other hand went down to his hip to grab his trusted blade's hilt and pull it out from it's holster.

The blade blazed to life, it's yellow lightning cackling with the intensity of a lion in harmony with the blue lightning that now surrounded it's wielder, Tobirama Senju.

He put his palm upon his raised knee for support to stand up. and once more his chakra spiked once again with each and every breath of his movements.

Even Sasuke took a hesitant step back, when Tobirama stood up fully and his hair flailed around wildly along with his chakra sheen that had formed a small vortex around his body.

"I swear…" his whisper made every pair of eyes snap to attention at him.

Sasuke gulped softly, he had forgotten how powerful Tobirama really was after years of the two staying silent. Especially if the opponents he was facing ever managed to rile him up.

But these fools had woken up the beast.

No beasts, was more like it. He himself spiked up his chakra to allow a coat of pure blue chakra, nowhere near as dense or powerful but almost comparable to the man in terms of quantities as Tobirama's, to let out of it's confines and match his friend's for what was to come now.

"...on the blood of my ancestors and forefathers that runs through my veins. I swear on my honor as a Senju, not one of you…" he raised his blade up to the Raikage to assert his point to everyone, with a glance of death flashing in his eyes, which was met by Ei's own furious ones equally spitefully.

"And I mean none of you, will leave this place alive. You'll all wish for death by the time I am done with you. Mark my words, for they shall be your last." his stern statement made each of the Cloud ninja's blood run cold while Sasuke merely smirked, a feeling of nostalgia washed over him when he too unclicked his chest plate and threw it aside.

Those would only get in their way today.

The Cloud ninjas could feel only one outcome from this battle, be it theirs or for their foes.

 _And that was Death._

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : Sorry for the long wait and the cliffhanger (those are my specialties BTW *chuckles evilly*). Well next time will be the battle between the Kages, the declarations of wars and the outcomes of what has transpired in this chapter. For those who might feel like I am prolonging words, I'll say this is exactly how I have planned my story out and it is all original I remind you with several missions and war events now lined up within my mind after I've had some time to think them through in this break time.**_

 _ **Plus, I intended to show Naruto's prowess a bit with his spars with Chen and the source of skills that Duy would acquire in my story. The next chapter will be one of, if not the most important ones in my story so you all should look forward to it because this is certainly my gem with an all original, never before seen plot-line.**_

 _ **Well, look forward to the next one soon and I'll see you all next time. Leave your comments in reviews and please probe me with them if the story excites you enough for an update. Until next time, keep reading and reviewing Ja Ne ;)**_

* * *

 _ **PS : I intended to make this one a 20k length chapter, but decided to put a stop here when I realized that the next part deserved a chapter of it's own. So sorry about that in advance ;)**_


	10. Kage Battle Royale!

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Continued….**

* * *

 **With Tobirama and Sasuke…**

* * *

The Raikage was on guard seeing the display of power and strength the Nidaime Hokage was showing right in front of his eyes.

That was what it seemed to everyone on the outside, however on inside the it was a different matter altogether.

He was seething.

Angry, furious, livid.

Words weren't enough to describe the amount of contempt he felt within the confines of his heart at that very moment. .

His plan had been perfect, he had broken the iron strong will of 'The Tobirama Senju', and all that had remained was to finish him off while he was off guard.

On his knees for Kami's sake!

But these idiots he called his precious elite jounins apparently didn't even know how to execute a simple assassination fluidly for that matter.

And they were the best he had to offer, it would have been a laughing riot had someone recited these events in front of any one of the other villages.

His teeth grinded themselves, his eyes furiously staring at the man he loathed with his very being at the present moment of time.

Tobirama Senju.

How he hated that name. Just the sound of it made his blood boil to epic proportions. His eyelids slowly fell to make a small blink, but he hadn't expected what happened a moment later.

Just as those eyelids flickered open in the fraction of a second, there stood only Sasuke within his field of vision.

Where the hell…?

"Grr…." his sharp ears picked up on the sounds of some wet gurgling, only to peer behind Sasuke and see Tobirama standing behind the jounins, the ones who had dared to stab him in the back while he let the kunai lodged in the back of their skulls free from his grip.

Both pairs of the victim's eyes rolled back into their sockets while they started falling face first on the ground as if the strings holding these puppets had been severed with that lethal blow.

A couple of soft thumps accompanied the corpses that now lay lifeless on the grass, while crimson elixir poured down on the ground in a small pool.

A moment of silence ran across the clearing, none of them realizing what had just occurred in the matter of seconds, a minute at the most.

One minute. It was all that was needed to extinguish two of Cloud's finest to their afterlife by the experienced and non-hesitant, absolutely stone cold hands of the current Senju clan head in the midst of a crowd of enemy jounins, and the Raikage himself.

Finally, realization started seeping into the Raikage's eyes while his eyes widened comically. In pure and completely unclouded fury, a nerve bulged upon his temple when he finally barked out his first order.

"Take him down!" he roared loudly, and those three words were all that were needed for all hell to break loose.

Tobirama flashed back to the marker he had placed on Sasuke and stood by his side, almost instantly. His companion had been the only one who had noticed him placing his Hiraishin seal on the tree when they were entering the clearings.

He was out of his senses, not his reflexes..

After years upon years of staying on guard in numerous life and death situations, it had almost become a natural habit of his to place markers whenever he entered a territory that was completely unknown to him.

This was the first time he had placed it in an almost trance like state however. And quite probably the last if he had anything to say about it.

Losing sight of an enemy's intention while he was surrounded by it, It was unsightly for a shinobi to be like that after the amount of experience he had amassed in the deadly field of combat alone.

"How many?" Sasuke's voice was quick, both readying themselves seeing the leaves around the foliage within their surroundings flickering every now and then to indicate how pinned they actually were.

"Thirteen and him." Tobirama's curt response made Sasuke nod, both watching the Raikage himself charging up his chakra while covering himself in an armor of black lightning, the most revered technique within his arsenal. .

"Leave the outsiders to me, you take down the Raikage and that lone jounin with him." Sasuke went to flick out a kunai but stopped when Tobirama glanced sharply at him for a moment. His seasoned eyes narrowed in on the Senju's hand blurring through simple hand seals and he understood the coded message quite clearly.

 _Rumble the ground._

Sasuke's hands came up to his chest in a blur, and went through a chain of hand seals that were too fast for anyone other than a dojutsu wielder to follow. But the last seal was out for everyone to see while his hair flailed around with his sheen of chakra concentrating to epic proportions in preparation for his opening technique.

His hands were clasped tightly in a snake seal.

"Earth Style-!" he roared, slamming his palms on the ground, much to the shock of everyone.

A seasoned and veteran shinobi like him, announcing his jutsu out loud in a shout was unbecoming of their legendary statuses.

Each of the jounin's stopped their flickering in the shadows of the trees. They were doing so to not come within their eyesight and in order to prepare for whatever Sasuke had in mind for them.

"Terra-forming!" he roared, and much like what Tobirama had told him.

The ground did rumble.

The whole ground started falling apart, a huge chunk of bedrock coming up from the tectonic shakes his technique was letting out while causing a mini earthquake within it's wake.

The large chunk of bedrock thrusted above made the Raikage and his jounin jump back to dodge the insanely large piece of ground he had intentionally targeted towards them.

Sasuke knew Ei could easily tear that boulder apart into tiny pieces with a mighty punch of his revered Black Lightning Armor.

But there was a catch to it, if he did go that route… he'd have to risk targeting his own shinobi, standing right behind Sasuke and given his reputation, he wasn't about to be taken down by a few little stones sent flying his way.

By breaking his own jutsu no less!

So all Ei could do was dodge for now.

But Sasuke's intentions were far more than what he was letting on, and it was proven right when he roared suddenly.

His chakra output pumped up, shaking the ground violently with his massive Earth Release while the tremors increased ten-folds.

And the effects were instant.

The whole firmness of the ground they were standing upon a moment ago, all but shattered in mere moments.

Webs of cracks started appearing throughout a large radius of five hundred meters and within just a matter of seconds, the shrubbery around them was destroyed.

The grassy fields made way for the bedrock chunks that threatened to overturn them in a second or so. The trees all around…including the ones that the Cloud ninjas resided within were uprooted like toothpicks being picked out from a moist pie.

Sasuke let the jutsu down after thirty seconds and for the life of him, he couldn't help the wolfish whistle that escaped his lips upon seeing the aftermath of his actions.

Heh, he still had his edge...

The whole clearing was now a pile of rubble and uprooted shrubbery and trees, craters varying in depth here and there covered the land as if a chain of land mines had just been triggered within this area.

The Raikage had finally had enough, and pushed away the large boulder he had held back with his arms and looked around the area for any signs of damages. His eyes glanced around sharply, seeing his shinobi coming out all around the destroyed fields like cockroaches, and just as unharmed as their metaphorically referenced counterparts.

"All that and not even a single clean hit?" The Raikage all but snarled in contempt and pure disgust, but most of all…disappointment.

To think, a shinobi of his caliber would go to such lengths just to show….

"Whoever said it was for offense?" Sasuke asked, feigning innocence that would have made a baby shy away from his gentle voice.

Ei blinked in confusion upon his response when a small voice reached his ears…

A voice of swirling water…

He snapped his neck the other way, only to see Tobirama standing there with his legs spread apart while his hands were clapped together tightly. His eyes were shut to focus all his concentration onto his task, and just as expected a huge torrent of water was swirling around him in a violently grounded, yet controlled typhoon.

His onyx eyes snapped open a second later, the typhoon of water slowing down before crushing it's waves against each other in a loud booming voice.

The water rushed outwards to all sides around him, splitting into several snake like tendrils and slithering away from each one of their obstacles quickly, with an intent to all but skewer their enemies' lives into oblivion.

The Raikage and his companion were quite aware of his attack and were swift to dodge those tendrils of water while they passed by them harmlessly.

But three of his other jounins who were still quite dazed, or one other with a severe case of ringing ears from Sasuke's technique in his case, weren't lucky enough to escape.

The water tendrils pierced their fatal organs and skewered out the other side with a complete change of color.

Shouts upon shouts of unharmed Cloud shinobi rang in the clearing upon seeing their comrades being killed off, shouts of the deceased men's names or instructions to get out of the way the only thing their stunned minds could comprehend at the moment.

The rest who were lucky enough to dodge, watched all those tendrils work around the clearing like snakes once more, before each of them splashed down into a large enough crater, thereby creating a newly made artificial source of water as if it were a natural phenomenon.

Ei glared murderously at his two opponents, now understanding their opening multi-step collaboration technique quite clearly.

It had been thoroughly planned out from the very beginning, right at the moment Tobirama had decided to take on the offensive.

And those accursed bastards had pulled it off perfectly!

Right in front of his very eyes!

Tobirama's sudden burst of chakra, deliberately lacking any amounts of killing intent was only meant to intimidate his shinobi into hesitating at the show of power by the man.

Then, he had taken on the advantage by flashing back to his executors with his teleportation trickery to kill of his jounin in a slick movement, even further shocking them at the backfiring of their plan upon themselves.

And just in that moment, Sasuke had pushed their advantage even further by planting a sense of panic with his own out-show of power, and that deliberately put out shout of his jutsu had done it's trick.

Thereby sending his men in a state of panic and having them run circles, all the while letting him prepare for his wide area technique efficiently.

That large Earth Release technique with it's primary target being Ei himself, had distracted him by trying to keep away from those incoming boulders and keeping him busy trying to push back the largest one he had thrown straight at his face.

All the while his panicked, half minded subordinates had completely lost all sense of intelligence upon seeing the destruction he was reeking; and not once realizing that it would just be serving as a distraction and a decoy to daze them, and cut off their senses completely.

Which came to the secondary stages of their plan, and their second executor being Tobirama Senju himself.

That thrice damned Senju had stood aside, while his partner gave him the large window of time to concentrate upon gathering up all the water he needed by transpiring the moisture from all around him.

His sensors, who were too stunned and dazed by their primary attacks, had no idea what he was doing all alone in the back and out of everyone's eye shots.

And then he had let loose of that swirling hell upon them and skewered down his most daze shinobi like headless chickens, and putting them in their resting places for good once and for all.

But what made him infuriated beyond belief was that it wasn't even what they had gone off to do in the first place!

The water sources that were now accumulated all around them now served as primary sources of water, at an easy disposal for Tobirama to use as he pleased which was what they had let out to do in the first place.

All that time, they were merely conditioning their surroundings to suit their needs so as to have all the advantages at their disposal while they fought an enemy that could quite as easily have them overpowered, if they were to go head to head that is.

But now a major problem stood face to face with him, his eyes calculatingly looked around to see many of his ninjas now injured here and there and most of them still recovering from the shock of their furious offensive while those two in question hadn't so much as taken a slap upon their wrists.

Sure they had used huge chunks of their reserves to scale out those humongous techniques, but it had paid off twice as much for them too.

The gamble had paid off.

He was left with a squadron that was nearly cut down to a half from what they were, while the rest lay injured. And top it all of, now they had the surroundings to use as they pleased too.

"A smart shinobi is always mindful of their surroundings, Academy awareness 101…" Sasuke recited sagely, and Ei clenched his teeth so tight, they almost threatened to pierce his brain while the Black Lightning of his armor danced even more wildly around him.

"But-" Tobirama's deadly cold voice made the hair on each of the shinobi's necks bump up behind the chilly calmness it held, even in the face of such adversity as if he were sure to come out as the victor at the end with no problems whatsoever. "-a legendary shinobi is one who turns the surroundings to suit his needs when the time calls for it." he recited Hashirama's prized quote, as if lecturing a pathetic no name civilian child in front of him.

"Why you bastards? I'll kill you!" Ei roared, vanishing in a black flicker of lightning and headed straight forward to cleave Tobirama's head off with his fist.

Tobirama raised his right arm up in an instant, his blade flickering into life almost instantly to block the Raikage's fist.

BAM!

Tobirama's heels dug deep into the ground while he backed the blade with his left palm to apply all his strength to stop it in it's place. His biceps strained under pressure while nerves bulged out from them along with his forehead, showing off just how much physical strength the Lightning Shadow must have possessed to push him so much with merely his lone fist.

"Now you're mine!" Ei snarled, raising his free fist and bringing it down to break down that sword and the bastard of a man who had made his life a living hell in the past few minutes... no years at that, once and for all.

But his hands over reached and tore apart the ground instead when Tobirama all but vanished into thin air once more, and appeared back at the tree that had marked his first two kills lying on his feet like thrown out trash.

The Raikage looked up, his eyes turning insanely bloodthirsty when Tobirama purposefully stepped upon a corpse's head, on his headband to be precise and walked over it a couple steps to emphasize his point to the downed man even further.

To show him just how far beneath Cloud was to the Leaf, be it in terms of strength or of respect.

With each step, the Raikage's killing intent increased exponentially.

He was taunting him, mocking him! HIM!

"Lightning Style : Electromagnetic murder!" Tobirama ducked under the concentrated beam of lightning that passed above his head, doing nothing more than raising a few of his hairs through static as damage but what happened next, did indeed surprise him.

"Lightning Style : Sixteen Pillar Bind!" suddenly four pillars made up of pure lightning sprouted out around him in a square formation at each corner, thereby concentrating their beams on their center, the center being him, and rendering him completely paralyzed and open for any sorts of attack.

He winced, feeling the beam skewering through his abdomen and most likely near his kidney while he trembled upon feeling the electricity cackle into his nerves from the wound while his blade slipped past his fingers and fell lifelessly upon the ground.

"Lightning Style- NOW YOU'RE MINE!" Ei charged in, as blind as an angry bull at finally having the chance to enact his vengeance upon the bastard for all the horrors he had put his country through in the last Great Shinobi War.

"LARIAT!" he roared, thrashing his elbow to the vulnerable Senju's neck and cleaving it off clean with his elbow….

SPLASH!

'Tobirama' as Ei most likely cleaved in two, split into two parts of water and sprayed his front completely wet.

"Substitution!" he growled out, hearing another shout from behind him.

"AHHH!" the jounin who hadn't left Ei's side since the beginning screamed in agony while a cackling yellow blade sprouted out from the front of his chest. A thin streak of blood slipped past the corner of his lips while he glanced back into the deathly cold eyes staring at him unflinchingly without so much as an ounce of remorse held within it's gaze.

SQUELCH!

The stoic Senju kicked the body aside harshly, flicking his blade clean of the blood that dripped from the tip of it's blade and turned to hear another couple of shouts behind him.

The two Cloud ninjas who had attempted to restrain him, and had almost been successful as was evident by the deep gash by the side of his waist when he had substituted with a water clone but still had gotten grazed by the still forming electric barrier that tried it's best to trap him.

But in the end, it was all in vain.

A number of earth spikes were piercing their twitching bodies, that still refused to believe themselves to be dead but were quivering their left life out to mother nature when crimson pooled underneath them and painted the ground a deep scarlet, almost black within it's wake.

They shouldn't have taken their eyes off Sasuke...

Tobirama clenched his waist with a wince, clutching the profusely bleeding wound tightly to slow down the bleeding while glancing to his side to see Sasuke jump down by his side with a cheeky grin plastered upon his face, no doubt from the pride he felt at doing so...

SLASH!

Sasuke's eyes saw the world spin comically, and he felt his body going in a parabolic path before falling down on the ground with a thump. But his eyes widened when he saw a headless body fall down on it's knees while Tobirama retracted back his arm holding the blade to his side.

"Next time you try to Henge into Sasuke, do not grin. Sasuke never does, not during combat." were the last words "Sasuke's" head heard before light left his eyes and Tobirama glanced back to see a tattered Sasuke coming by his side with a limp while holding the opposite side of his waist as compared to the stoic Senju.

"And then there was one…" the elder Sarutobi chimed in, only then making the Raikage realize that they had all but cleaved down his jounins with as little effort as they could put out while suffering only little damage in it's wake.

Tobirama did arch an eyebrow seeing several cuts and wounds on Sasuke's torso, especially the deep gash extending from his back and only going deeper down to the side of his waist.

"They had a genjutsu user in their ranks, bastard was a sensor and a kenjutsu user…" he muttered in annoyance, wincing while applying pressure to his wound to slow down the bleeding himself.

Tobirama said nothing, as usual and stared on straight ahead at the Raikage, who much to the two's surprise was standing there calmly and as still as a rock.

A bit too calmly, for one who had all but lost all his men…

Wait, all his men?

There were fifteen jounin level chakra signatures, and three Kage level…

Which meant…

Tobirama had no time to even let out a warning shout before he jumped aside while ignoring his wound that screamed agony to him, only for a large broadsword with a strange design coupled with a talisman of sorts at it's end to strike down his last position.

He breathed a little easily when he saw Sasuke too had dodged cleanly from his supposed attacker too. At least within his own field of vision that is.

Both Leaf shinobi skid backwards and looked on at their attackers critically.

Sasuke though was praising his luck at barely dodging that fist that had all but cleaved his head off with that strange glowing thing wrapped around his attacker's arm.

Had it not been for the head that Tobirama had cleaved cleanly and threw in front of him, and seeing the shadow of the attacker's reflection within his headband, that attack would have surely been lethal. But he had gotten out with merely a scratch grazing his cheek.

"Ginkaku, do it!" Sasuke's supposed attacker shouted out loud, and the one that had tried to attack Tobirama now identified as Ginkaku rushed Sasuke quickly at blinding speeds.

Sasuke merely watched on in amusement as the man brought his over-sized sword above his head to try and get a hit on Sasuke. As if he would let him be hit with that slow of an attack…

"What the-?" he clenched his neck when suddenly a blue translucent cloud forced it's way out of his throat and lips, hovering in front of him like a kindred spirit of sorts.

Ginkaku brought his sword down, while Sasuke jumped back but only saw Ginkaku slashing down that strange blue cloud from his lips while it was absorbed straight into his blade.

"Shichiseiken Curse!" Ginkaku laughed at catching him off guard, and much to Sasuke's confusion he felt almost nothing at all wrong with his body.

He saw both identical looking men, apart from their golden and silver contrasting hair that is, laugh humorously as if he were already dead and he narrowed his eyes on these new latecomers in their battle.

"What hell dd you do- umph!" Sasuke's voice became muffled when a hand roughly clasped his mouth shut. He pressed down the tip of his kunai to the point where his abductor's liver would be to make a fatal blow, only to hear an all too familiar voice whisper something within his ear that made him stop his silent attack.

"Don't speak…" Tobirama whispered in his ear, now understanding the gravity of the situation they were in with these two new fighters joining their enemy. Sasuke nodded curtly, and Tobirama let his mouth free while stepping by his side.

"You are cursed Sasuke, they put it on you just now…" his silent questioning glance was answered by Tobirama almost instantly while he eyed the two laughing men warily.

"Do exactly as I say and you'll be fine…" he whispered, and Sasuke nodded silently. Tobirama meanwhile was wracking his mind violently.

He had knowledge of their weapons, the tools belonging to the Sage of the Six Paths himself were revered enough to attract his attention and probe him to garner as much knowledge as he could about them.

But he had only scoured out so much before hitting a reef of mystery.

Myths in ancient texts said that those tools could only be used to their fullest potential by someone of it's master's pure bloodline only, which meant these two idiots were in someway related to the father of all chakra.

He had heard rumors of Kumo possessing the Amber Exorcism Bottle that they had used to capture the once rampant Hachibi, after failing pathetically to capture the Kyuubi once before. This solidified those rumors completely, they possessed not one but five of the six tools from the Sage.

With four of them now in action, right in front of him.

Not much was known of their abilities, but as far as he could tell from the strange thing he had cleaved off from Sasuke's lips before absorbing it into his blade, he could make some vague assumptions.

Each tool used some sort of a sealing technique, and from this it was most logically a cursed sealing technique.

So it probably had something to do with his voice, or words…

But that was only an assumption, based on no evidences or proofs whatsoever. Still, Sasuke had spoken a few words before and nothing at all was wrong with him so…

"Sasuke, say my surname. And only my surname. Nothing less, nothing more." Tobirama ordered him curtly, and Sasuke nodded, feeling Tobirama's nervousness in an instant and knew it was only logical to do as he said for now.

The man was a walking scroll of forbidden techniques, and if anyone could discern that curse quickly enough in the heat of battle at the present moment...

It was Tobirama Senju.

"Senju." Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened to him once more and Tobirama nodded curtly, filing away this new development quite intently.

The slight stiffening and seriousness of his opponents seeing his actions was enough to warrant his fears that he was walking on the correct path.

This strange curse had something to do with either his voice, or his words.

That much was certain.

"What did you do to him?" he asked out loud, he had to gather as much information and buy as much time as he could to understand the curse placed on Sasuke.

Both Ginkaku and Kinkaku laughed maniacally, crying tears of joy.

"Now that would be telling…" Ginkaku held his sides in laughter at seeing the ever stoic Tobirama look so guarded and stiff. He had no idea what he had gotten himself into.

"Yeah, after all 'Silence is Golden'!" Kinkaku pointed to his brother and Ginkaku's laughs increased at his brother's pointed joke even further.

"Yeah after all 'Words can be so eloquent'…" Ginkaku felt like his insides would explode, oh how he would love to see their shocked faces when they realized how they had been done for without even a simple fight.

"You damn idiots, stay serious for once. I want this bastard dead. Do not let that damn Senju out of here alive!" Ei roared angrily, and jumped down by the brother's side to make their laughter's cease.

"Yeah boss don't worry, these two are dead men already…" Ginkaku waved his hand dismissively and Ei had almost half a mind to attack his own companions right now.

But they were right, with the tools and the strength of his secret weapons there was no way that those two could leave here alive any further.

Tobirama though did narrow his eyes on the silver haired one, especially his pointed joke that had made the golden one laugh even harder.

The two had no sense of duty whatsoever, and only seemed to be here for fun.

"Silence is golden, silence is golden, silence is…." a bulb went off in his head at their implication of words.

Now he understood what had peeked his interest in that joke.

It wasn't the words, but the implied sarcasm in their tone which meant it had something to do with the curse, since the silver haired idiot had glanced at Sasuke for a split second when he had put out his joke while Ginkaku had laughed harder.

They were implying Sasuke to stay silent to stay alive, which meant his secondary assumptions were correct as well.

It had something to do with silence.

"Words can be so eloquent. What did he mean by that?" Tobirama racked his brain for an answer, quite glad that the Raikage was quite interested suddenly to let them have their time to make the first move and further solidifying his previous assumptions.

"Eloquent, that idiot was being cryptic. Which meant choose your words wisely while staying silent…" Tobirama was running down a number of assumptions, to see which held the most true in this case and then hope that he was right lest Sasuke was done for.

"Wait that's it…!" he blinked and then blinked again upon deciphering those two cryptic jokes in an instant.

"Silence is the key, but words must be chosen carefully." he stated flatly, and smirked when the brother's eyes went wide at his words.

They had given everything away without ever meaning do so in the first place.

But such was the keen mind of Tobirama Senju, never one to be trifled with.

"Sasuke…" the Sarutobi clan head looked on curiously at his only source for hope and sighed in relief when Tobirama's smirking face was within his vision.

That thrice damned Senju had figured it out already...

Both parties thought simultaneously, although the feelings towards him were the polar opposites in every sense of the 'word'...

Oh the irony...

"Only say Senju…" he recited his deduction and Sasuke nodded before Tobirama trailed off for a few seconds, as if he were counting for a moment before continuing on. "…every sixty seconds. Do not stay silent for more than that, and whatever happens do not say anything else. Call me out and use hand signs to communicate, you get me? Do not say anything else, no matter what." Tobirama didn't bother for a reply but Sasuke nodded, smirking himself at seeing the absolutely livid expressions on his enemies' faces.

Tobirama could do that to people, he had quite an experience with those situations himself. He might have chuckled, had the situation not been so gruel in pure amusement.

"I'll take the Raikage, you go for the idiotic looking two." Tobirama's voice was strict and none emotion whatsoever could be realized within his words.

Ginkaku and Kinkaku bristled in anger, not only had he deciphered their technique in a matter of seconds but above all else he was dismissing them and calling them idiots as if it were everyday news.

They glared murderously at Tobirama, all but forgetting about Sasuke in anger and going in to attack the Senju with a yell of bloody murder…

"Earth Style : Earth Dragon Bullet!" Sasuke whispered within his heart to garner their attentions and take them away from Tobirama to let him deal with the Raikage once and for all while he himself got it over with these two clowns.

The Raikage, only with his vast experience and his superior reflexes did he dodge the slash from behind after Tobirama had mysteriously vanished right in front of his eyes.

He reared his right arm back, pulling his forearm back to point out his elbow above Tobirama's head, while it glowed a deep black and cackled ominously.

"Elbow!" he brought down his dark lightning enhanced elbow strike but Tobirama vanished again, this time the Raikage knew where he would come to next and smirked at already knowing his only possible marker to flash to as quickly as he would have had to in order to dodge that attack.

"Lightning Style : Reverse Lift!" Tobirama's eyes almost bulged out of his sockets when his lightning charged heel made contact with his wounded waist while Ei's roundhouse kick made perfect contact with it's target area as he had intended to.

"...!" a silent scream escaped Tobirama's lips when the Raikage twisted his body at inhumane speeds and delivered a forceful fist, once more straight to his wounded waist and charged out a massive pulse of electricity into his wound.

His body rocketed back like a rag doll, tearing it's way through a huge pile of rubble and leaving a thirty meter streak in the large pile of mountainous rubble filled with trees and boulders.

The ever stoic Senju blinked unfocused, his eyes showing him nothing but blurs while he tried to shake off the cobwebs within his head.

His wound felt numb, much to his relief and annoyance.

It meant that it had been wounded so deeply now that his brain was in shock from the pain alone.

And that was the cause of his relief too, because it was only the pain that was keeping him conscious from the death blow he had just taken head on, twice in fact.

He looked down, his eyes still cloudy but he could see a strange dark, murky substance pooling down on his lap and he coughed out that same substance thickly from his mouth when it choked his throat straight onto his lap.

Blood he realized...

Ei walked on towards the form of the downed Hokage, a proud smirk plastered on his gruff looking face. That bastard had landed quite a deep gash on his back while he had gambled all in his last strike.

But it had paid off, the Senju would be dead just by bleeding out in a few minutes, way under half an hour at most.

And that was only if he was lucky.

His smirk only widened seeing Tobirama's fallen head while his eyes went back to the sword that was lying a few feet away from him.

An idea formed in his head, it would be a fitting end to a swordsman to die by his own sword right? He mused and grinned evilly, and insane look flashing across his eyes.

Meanwhile, Tobirama was only focused on trying to regain his bodily functions back as much as he could. His nerves still twitched from the huge electric load they had suffered, but his index and middle finger were coming around within his left hand and he could feel a bit of sensation in his neck too.

But his eyes were still misted…

"AHHH!" he screamed in agony, the Raijin no Ken, his own sword piercing his left shoulder a hair length above his heart on purpose to make him scream more while he died his pathetic death like the dog he really was.

Tobirama on the other hand was quite glad for the new wound, his eyes had been restored to focus and his neck was now in the perfect position too.

Slowly, he raised his index and middle fingers on his right hand to hold up a shaky half ram seal upon his thighs and glanced up straight at the Raikage while his lips pursed together with a small opening as if he were going to let out a small whistle.

"Water Style-" he winced when the Raikage kicked his wounded waist once more in a harsh kick but kept all his concentration upon his last gathered chakra.

"Water Senbons!" he screamed inwardly when the Raikage pressed his foot even more upon his waist to increase the pain tenfold, but he let out two water senbons from his lips before his concentration broke.

But that was all that he needed as his couple of senbons were straight on the mark.

"AHHHHHH MY EYES!" the Raikage's blood curdling screams rang across the clearings while he clutched his eye sockets in agony and in vain. His eye sockets were now flowing rivers of blood while he bled at four times the speed of Tobirama's own wounds.

He had been overconfident in his victory and had dropped his guard, while he had let his opponent breath even when he had the chance to kill him cleanly with a single strike. The man's hunger for theatrics had costed him dearly...

Tobirama's eyes widened when he saw the Raikage stand still and try and make his way towards him like a blind man.

"Move…" he whispered in his mind, trying to move anything and everything that he could at that moment of time. A streak of horror ran down his mind when he saw the Raikage take another two steps at him while clutching those bloody rivers that were once his eyes.

"Move it…." he thought, frantically trying to get a little sensation back in his arms to have at least some protection from that blind yet dangerous man.

A single strike and he would be dead..., no not yet.

"Move, move, move, MOVE MOVEEE DAMN IT!" his mind roared ,but his body betrayed him today, for the first time he knew he was going to die.

But he had far too much to live for, he had to repent for his failure at Mito's feet. Take all the rage and curses from his little Tsuna, he had to take responsibility for the reason of being the cause of Nawaki's parents death.

And Naruto….that idiotic no good blonde ball of annoyance who never failed to mention his age whenever he got the chance, still had to become Hokage.

And he wouldn't deem anyone worthy enough to test him other than himself and let him have the hat, only to have Tsunade turn half the village over while he let her do as she pleased.

He had far too much to live for….

A lone tear escaped his swollen eye when the Raikage towered over him, and for the first time in his life, he felt scared.

Honestly scared.

He was frightened, he wanted to live. He couldn't let his family down once more, his children, they were still to be coddled with by him as much as he could while he watched them grow up.

Ei raised his hand up with a vertical open palm that cackled with his legendary black lightning to rear down a final killing chop to the Senju he wished to kill in his final moments with all his might.

Tobirama, in his own final moment had nothing else to do but to accept his fate and closed his eyes.

A soft breeze whizzed past his head while his hair flailed with it's brush, his face plate falling down on his lap with the Leaf insignia facing him in all it's shining glory.

His own reflection stared back at him, he couldn't help but smile.

He really had gotten old.

"Not yet Tobirama…" Hashirama's voice whispered in his ear, and his eyes snapped open to see an ethereal image of him rearing down upon the Raikage from the back, the sun not letting him see even his final moment's hallucination…

"NOT YET YOU DAMNED SENJU, WE HAVE FAR TOO MUCH TO LIVE FOR!" Tobirama's eyes widened upon realizing whose voice it really was.

Sasuke.

Those words strung a cord in his heart and a spark of hope lit up within his heart at hearing the conviction behind those words, while Sasuke came down from his mighty jump like a soul hungry Shinigami scouring down for his long awaited soul.

Both his hands clenched the kunais in his palms tightly, he couldn't miss this…

Just as Ei started rearing down the chop, Sasuke dug his two kunais in the back of skull and fell down on the man's back roughly to push him down off balance with the help of his bent knees.

Ei fell forward lifelessly, Sasuke following him a moment later in a thump right in between Tobirama's knees.

The elder Sarutobi looked up and breathed in relief, only to see Tobirama looking at the dead Ei blankly.

But his heart shook to the core when he saw the two silent streams of tears rolling down the man's cheeks while Tobirama let out a content sigh with a smile.

Sasuke stumbled on his knees, crawling pathetically to him and tore apart his shirt, the largest part he could find in one piece and stuffed it tightly in the man's gaping large wound.

"Oi Tobirama!" Sasuke tapped his cheek, only to see his eyes starting to roll back from severe blood loss so much so that he wasn't even realizing any pain now.

"Stay awake!" he snarled in a whisper, roughly cupping his cheek and shaking him awake.

If he closed his eyes, Sasuke knew they wouldn't open again.

Ever.

He smeared off his blood from the wounds he had himself covered in, and brushed it on the back of his palm.

I→Inu→Saru→Tori→Hitsuji

"Ninja Art-" he coughed out blood, but didn't let it mind him one bit.

Gathering up all his remaining chakra to the point he himself felt his consciousness fading from chakra exhaustion, he slammed his palm on the ground and Kanji smeared all over the rubble.

"Summoning!" was all he could whisper before he too fell sideways in a thump and a poof of smoke appeared near the kanji covered circle by his side.

The little baby ape he had summoned with the last of his chakra, who had a small bo staff on his back and a leather holster to hold some more weapons blinked, before his eyes widened upon seeing the state of the two barely breathing Leaf shinobi in front of him.

One being his own summoner...

"Khee-Khee!" the little ape hooted hurriedly, fumbling through his holster before unfurling a large scroll and laid down the two battered Leaf shinobi on it, as gently as he could, and all of them disappeared in a poof of smoke.

* * *

 **Uzumaki clan compounds…**

* * *

"Mito-sama!" the whirlpool heiress heard a shout, pursing her lips she kept the cup of her evening tea aside.

No doubt she wasn't amused at being disturbed in such an uncouth manner during her relaxation times as was evident by her thinly pursed lips that refused to give away her emotions to no one, whatsoever.

She arched an eyebrow when she placed her palms upon her thighs to get up, only for the uncalled guest to come running into the backyard as if the Shinigami himself had placed a hit upon his very soul.

He was a chunin, his vest and the way he puffed as if he had run down a million miles gave that away quite easily to her.

"Yes…" her melodic voice asked the man, who panted and looked at her hurriedly.

"My lady, you must make haste…" her eyebrow arched even further up at his words. "…you're needed at the hospital." he got out in heavy breaths while the woman in question sighed.

So much for some down time…

Oh well, they only called upon her help when the case was out of everyone's abilities, which was once in a blue moon by the way.

Having been trained a lot in the medical arts in her younger days, and having been the wife of the man whose prowess in the field was still unrivaled, she had picked upon a lot of skills that most would give a couple of their limbs for in exchange for the plentiful knowledge she possessed.

"Alright, then just let me go and get changed…" she got out and stood up, going to walk in to get out of her loose robes she usually wore in the house in exchange for one of her formal kimonos. It was unbecoming of her status to look this way in front of anyone.

Her hands picked up the cup and the plate holding her snacks to tuck them in the kitchen while the man looked ready to chew his way out of his lips in a few more seconds out of pure anxiety and nervousness.

Her soft steps echoed throughout the silent estates when the chunin finally decided to say the dreaded words he had been avoiding all along.

"My lady please hurry…" her eyes turned sharply to the man who gulped at feeling her dangerous stare eating away at his very soul each passing moment. "…it's Lord Hokage." he whispered dreadfully and a sharp sound resounded all around the house.

 _CLINK…CLINK…_

The crockery in her grip fell down and shattered into countless pieces while the temperature of the area dropped a couple of degrees.

She gulped down a thick choke, hoping for all the heavens in the world what she had just heard had been a mistake on her part.

"What?" she asked, her stomach having lost it's appetite in but a moment while the chunin's gaze traveled down shamefully to the ground.

"It's Tobirama-sama my lady, he and Sasuke-sama…" his voice trailed off when he looked up, only to see he had been speaking the last word to no one but thin air and lifeless walls.

Mito was already on her way, making straight for only one place that was on her mind right now.

 _Konoha Hospital…_

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : Well there's the highly anticipated and much sought after chapter ever since I've begun writing this fic.**_

 _ **I hope it meets my reader's expectations because it was really the best I could do for now. And once more (*chuckles evilly*), I've ended it on an evil cliffhanger (I'm getting better at those right?).**_

 _ **And well I guess this marks for an anniversary, since this is the tenth chapter along with me hitting the 100k+ words mark with this. So an average of about 10k words is what I've set for this story, which in my opinion is the sweet spot since it gives me just enough words to make it well detailed and add enough plot while not letting it drag out too long.**_

 _ **Next chapter will deal with the aftermath and how everyone comes to terms with the situations while tensions rise in the elemental nations to a whole new level while our heroes will be grieving for the losses incurred.**_

 _ **I wanted to incorporate the aftermath in this chapter only, but I got a bit too carried away in making the fight as nice as possible and well went a bit overboard (*chuckles sheepishly*).**_

 _ **Well it's holiday time here in my home country, so enjoy your weekend with this chapter and I'll see you soon.**_

 _ **So until next time, you all know the drill by now don't you? ;)**_

 _ **NSE signing out, Ja Ne.**_

* * *

 _ **PS : And I thank you for all the love this story has garnered in reviews, I haven't yet come across a flame so it means I'm doing this right at least till now. So keep showering out lengthy reviews for even more motivation for me to write quickly alright?**_


	11. Hidden emotions

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

With the events of the previous day unknown to everyone but a select few who were considered worthy enough to be disclosed with such privy information..

Even so, the village still held a solemn air within it's usually bright midst.

The reason being the news that had spread like wildfire among the entire population of the village hidden in the leaves.

The substantial news being - the untimely death of the head family of Konoha's most influential and powerful clan.

* * *

 **Konoha Memorial Grounds…**

* * *

Almost the whole village, that is the shinobi half who had been allowed to step in here had turned up and gathered for the funeral proceedings that were to take place in a few moments and offer their condolences to the duly deceased.

The remaining Senju head family, consisting of just Mito, Tsunade, and a little Nawaki clutched in Mito's arms stood up front with the few remaining members of their clan behind them.

Naruto, along with Duy and Sakumo stood aside and quite surprisingly had chosen to be with his friends rather than his clan as was the custom followed throughout the decades.

"Naruto…" Sakumo whispered in a hushed tone, his head held down in respect while the blonde paid rapt attention to his friend all the while glancing at the front worriedly every now and then.

"Sensei isn't here." he whispered, getting a small nod from the blonde who had noticed it as well.

"Tobirama Ji-chan isn't here as well…" the blonde whispered his own musings, and Sakumo nodded already having seen the missing Senju clan head from the get go.

That was the strangest part, Tobirama himself not attending was really bugging the blonde quite a bit. Something big must have happened for their sensei and the Hokage himself being absent from such an important gathering.

He had rushed almost instantly after scouring out a traditional jet black kimono to wear as soon as he had heard the news with Sakumo being his messenger.

They all turned silent when Hiruzen walked up front to be the one who had volunteered to be the one who would pass out some last words for the fallen family.

"Today we are all gathered here for the grievances of some people we all loved and cherished with all our hearts…" his gravely sad voice rang in the empty grounds, while each head bowed down a little in respect for the two coffins in front of them that held the two lifeless bodies within it's cold confines.

"Today the earth had two gentle souls less,

While the heavens hold two more.

Deep within each of our hearts their memory is kept,

Of ones we loved and whom we shall never forget.

Their lives a beautiful memory,

their absence is a silent grief…"

Mito clutched the little boy held protectively in her arms even tighter while doing all that she could to keep herself composed for her little children.

In that moment she knew no mother should go through with the curse of having to bury her own children with her hands while she lived on with the weight of their deaths laid upon her shoulders.

She didn't even have the courage to be the one to speak those last words she was hearing just now.

A mother just couldn't say those dreaded words no matter how hard she might try…

Naruto himself bowed his head deeply to hide the tears prickling in the corner of his eyes from everyone, while the words being spoken stung a deep cord in his heart. A million questions passed his mind in a split second, none of which had any positive answer whatsoever.

Hiruzen continued on after taking a deep composing breath.

"Time may pass and fade away,

But the memories of these kind souls shall always stay.

A cluster of memories sprinkled with tears,

We wish Kami had spared our loved ones a few more years."

The held back tears in most eyes were becoming harder to hold back with each word that passed Hiruzen's lips.

But a small voice broke the small bout of silence, his words doing enough to break most of the dams that were holding back a flood of emotions in their hearts.

"Baa-chan, why aren't Tou-san and Kaa-chan speaking?" a simple question rang in the grounds from underneath Mito's arms and for the life of her, she didn't have the heart to answer it.

Even Hiruzen stopped and gulped down a choke upon hearing the soft voice that had voiced an innocent question, which received promptly no answer from anyone.

Mito merely hid the little three-year-old boy's face in her neck and gave a small nod to Hiruzen to let him continue with the proceedings as was the custom.

After a gentle clearing of his throat, he continued on with his final passing words.

"Partings come and hearts are broken,

Loved ones go with words unspoken.

Never selfish, always loving and kind,

These are memories you leave behind.

Ours is just a simple prayer,

May Kami bless you and keep you in her care."

The younger Sarutobi stepped down from the stage and one by one, each person started coming up and placing down their white camellias in between the pedestal held by the two open coffins with their portraits held in between along with the headstones that were to be placed by their grave-sites in a few moments.

One by one, every person attending the funeral started placing their flowers and offering a last prayer to the two fallen souls with the Senju head family being held back for last.

Naruto stood beside the coffins for a second, his eyes bleeding crimson out of everyone's eyesight to etch the memory of this scene deep within the recesses of his mind permanently.

He kept the flowers and walked away without doing the formality of saying a small prayer like everyone had done before him.

It would only belittle the memories he had of the two in his mind right now. It would give him a reason to move on and forget them, and that was something which was completely unacceptable to him.

Mito gave a small shake of her head to Hiruzen, letting him know she wasn't in any state to go near the cold corpses of her children even for a second.

She knew she would break down if she so much as even glanced at their pale and colorless faces for even a moment.

Nawaki forced his way out of her hug and looked on towards the coffins that were being readied to be closed any moment now. But his innocent mind still craved for answers that he wasn't getting right now.

"Baa-chan why won't they speak?" once more he voiced his question out loud. The four Senju clan members stopping momentarily when they were going to pick up the final lid of the coffins with the Senju clan insignia embossed upon them as soon as his soft voice rang in the clearings once again.

Sakumo glanced worriedly at his best friend. Just seeing him standing in the back all alone with shadowed eyes, it killed him at not knowing whatever it was that Naruto was feeling right now.

He knew he was quite close with the fallen family members, having heard of many great things from his lips on countless occasions up until now. He himself had been over to Tsunade's house quite a few times, but wasn't as close to them as Naruto was.

Over the years, the blonde was almost considered family in the Senju head households and the silver haired boy knew how much his friend cherished anyone who he considered close to him.

But most of all how much he adored Tsunade.

He knew the blonde Uchiha would most likely tear apart anyone who so much as looked at her the wrong way, to think what his thoughts would be on thinking how broken she might be because of this and what was most likely going on within his mind...

It unnerved him…

But he was quite worried for his friend due to plenty more reasons, but one being the most prominent of them all.

Seeing her in pain, it must have been killing him right now.

He put on a strained understanding smile, Duy smiling sadly upon seeing what his friend was trying to do and urged him to go on with a subtle nudge of his shoulder.

Sakumo clasped the spaced out boy's shoulder gently, and just like he had expected to his friend's neck snapped straight to attention at him.

But the expression plastered over his face wasn't one he was expecting…

Instead of sad and sheen less azure eyes as he was expecting, he was met with blazing crimson eyes that had their three tomoes circling slowly, almost menacingly within them.

"Don't." his cold voice whispered menacingly, devoid of any emotions whatsoever and it almost made his teammates take a step back in sheer fright from their friend's strange and sudden change of demeanor.

The blonde boy in question, was finding it quite hard to contain the deep rage that was starting to bubble up within his heart along with an emotion that he hadn't felt so strongly ever in his life.

Not since his younger years that is…

Hatred.

Sakumo gulped softly, nodding timidly and trying all as he might to keep his strained and sympathetic smile up for his friend.

He didn't know…or even wanted to for that matter,what had come over his usually happy go lucky friend. But this was one side he had never witnessed before in all the years he had known him for since their childhoods.

And Kami knew he didn't want those eyes directed back upon him again.

Ever.

The last thing the young Uchiha needed right now was pity from anyone, not even Tsunade needed it for now in the young Uchiha's mind.

He still remembered it quite vividly how painful it had been for him when he had lost his mother. The few people who had been kind to him back then, offered him those looks each time they had laid eyes on him during the time his mother had passed away.

In an attempt to console him, but it did the polar opposite of their intentions every damn time!

Reminding him each time of what he had lost with those Kami damned looks of the thing he despised the most in this world.

Pity.

It was a pathetic, useless emotion in his mind that did anything but help the one who was suffering. Instead it spurred on all the pain they were trying to bury by reminding them of what the victims had lost in the first place, and were trying as they might to forget it altogether.

He clenched his lower jaw tightly seeing Mito's bitten lip from the back which was quite clear even from his scarce viewing angle of her,due in part to his unconsciously activated Sharingan.

He couldn't see Tsunade from where he stood in the back, but he knew how emotional the girl could be in troubled times like these unlike the strong knucklehead she always made herself out to be.

She must be a mess right now...

But his troubled thoughts were once more broken by the little voice that let out a shout once more as soon as the coffins were raised by the four Senju clan members to be put in their final resting places.

"Baa-chan why won't you answer me? Why don't they speak?" once more Nawaki asked, and this time Mito gathered up all her courage and gave him a gentle smile.

"They are sleeping sweetie." she whispered, feeling as if someone had placed a block of lead on her chest at lying to the little innocent one in her arms.

But for the life of her, how was she supposed to tell a child that his parents and her own children were…

Dead?!

Nawaki though, being the three-year-old he was, nodded innocently.

He could accept her answer, since it did make a little sense to him.

"When are they waking up?" Mito's eyes widened upon hearing the simple question and her stomach dropped a couple of pounds as realization struck her heart.

One that she was trying to avoid with all her might, only to keep up a strong front for her little ones.

"They…" she choked on her words, twin streams flowing down her eyes when Nawaki's eyes snapped to his back upon hearing a couple of soft thumps from that direction.

"What are you doing?" he asked the four Senjus who had just put down the coffins within the dug up graves and looked away from his innocent eyes that were piercing almost every heart within the grounds right now.

They turned their eyes back to the graves and picked up the shovels, digging into the dirt and starting to fill up the graves with it.

"Hey why are you putting dirt on my parents?" the little brown haired boy wriggled within Mito's arms who was keeping him firm while sniffling to herself and praying for the funeral to end once and for all.

Each moment was killing her on the inside right now…

"Baa-chan they are putting dirt on them…" he spoke innocently to his grandmother, who pulled his face in her neck and hugged the wriggling little boy for dear life.

"Nawaki stop it…." Mito sniffled out, but the boy paid her no heed. His entire attention was plastered on his parents who were being buried right in front of his eyes.

"They will have trouble breathing, don't put dirt on them…" he called out to the four who just resumed their task of burying the duly deceased as quickly as they could.

Nawaki wriggled wildly in Mito's arms, not understanding why those people were putting dirt on his parents and why no one was answering him properly.

"Stop putting dirt on my parents…" he spoke out loud, the four men stopping for a moment before digging their shovels back in the dirt heaps and covering half the depth of the graves right at that moment.

"They'll be angry when they wake up…" he struggled on, almost leaping out of Mito's arms who was crying her heart out now.

"STOP PUTTING DIRT ON MY PARENTS!" he screamed this time, and it was all that the Uzumaki heiress could take before she fell down onto her knees and started wailing for her life.

"Nawaki… they are not waking up…." she sobbed out, while Hiruzen rushed to her side to console the crying mother and the child who himself was now crying softly in pure confusion and a little fright.

"But why not? You're lying Baa-chan…" he trailed off with shimmering eyes when no one answered him and he sobbed thickly. "…aren't you Obaa-chan?" he sobbed out and she hugged the little boy for dear life.

"They won't wake up honey…they are… like Hashirama Jiji sweetie…" she stuttered, not having the heart to say the dreaded words that threatened to escape her lips.

"Dead." Tsunade whispered in an almost dead tone, standing still as a statue and not a single sign of a tear or sadness on her face. Her face was just…

Blank.

Mito held the boy tightly, whose sobs increased each passing second while he struggled in her arms to stop the men from burying his parents.

Naruto clenched his fists so tight, a couple of nerves became visible on his forearms while a couple of crimson droplets fell down from his knuckles upon hearing the little screeching shouts of the boy he loved and adored so much, crying his heart out for his deceased parents.

It reminded him of the time he had screamed the same way in Kagami's arms, pleading him with all his heart to just let him have one last look at his deceased mother…

His wish hadn't been granted in the end…

Everyone started gathering around Mito and Nawaki, consoling the two crying ones or the stone-still Tsunade who was yet to show any signs of life on her face.

Naruto didn't quite know how long he stood there, or if he was standing alone or with someone for that matter. His mind had just turned into a state of oblivion, and the only thing his mind registered was the soft sobbing sounds that came up front while he stared on lifelessly at the newly dug headstones in the graves which became the only signs of their existence like many others before them.

His mother being one of them.

Several dark thoughts ran through his mind, the mindless bloodshed he had witnessed a few days being one of them.

How fragile the human life really was? How much did it's sudden disappearance affect several others who were connected to them…

But most of all, why did they have to hurt _her…?_

A soft hand cupped his cheek, making his eyes snap up upon realizing the touch he had felt a thousand times now, only to meet the bloodshot violet orbs of his grandmother in all but blood.

She smiled sadly, seeing his eyes almost completely red. His Sharingan making his Iris scarlet while his sclera was matching it quite intently from the silent streams of tears he was unknowingly letting free out of his control.

She was still holding Nawaki in her arms while his cheek rested upon her shoulder. The little boy, who had fallen unconscious from all his crying made the young Uchiha realize it must have been at least two hours since he had been standing there, completely zoned out of his wits.

Small memories of his friends leaving him to go with their families, while he had nodded lifelessly only now registering in his mind.

Mito knew he was quite close to her deceased children, not quite as close as he was to her or Tobirama but close enough. It came as no shock to her that he was hurting too, but she knew he could handle it for now.

It was Tsunade who had her truly scared out of her wits.

The girl was silent as a mute ever since this morning, and was only nodding with no signs of crying anywhere near in sights and was staring lifelessly at the graves with no emotions whatsoever.

And she knew the only person who could get her to let it all out right now was standing right in front of her very eyes.

She wrapped her free arm around Naruto and pulled him in a warm comforting hug, running her fingers in his silky hair and kissed his head softly.

He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged back the woman he trusted with all his heart, feeling her pain and misery just through the small contact they had.

"Naruto, will you do something for me?" her voice was rasped, she sounded so tired. He nodded, not even needing to think twice about agreeing to whatever it was that she wanted.

"I'm going to go and take Nawaki home, then head on home after I've done some work back at the hospital…" he wanted to argue, tell her to go home and rest but digressed for now and stayed silent in her gentle embrace.

"Take care of Tsunade for me, will you? Can you do that for me?" her voice so gentle, like always she could make him do anything she pleased with just a few words in her ever melodic and elegant voice.

Only one person other than her had such a tight hold over him…

"I will, trust me." he whispered unconsciously, relishing in her embrace for a moment before letting the woman go while passing her a little reassuring smile that didn't fool her in the slightest after all the years she had spent with the boy.

Once more she cupped his cheek, looking at the boy longingly for a moment before placing her lips on his forehead and nodding with a genuine smile.

He had grown so much right before her eyes…

"I trust you." was all she said before walking by his side and going off straight to the Senju clan compounds with Hiruzen shadowing behind her like a hawk from afar, to keep an eye out for the distraught woman's health and safety.

Naruto just walked in front up to the two graves, looking up at the darkening sky for a moment to gaze at the sun, almost completely dipping into the horizon.

Only he and the girl sitting in front of the graves were left there all alone. Tsunade sat there silently with her knees pulled up to her chest while she sat like a ball in the presence of her parents. Everyone else, already having left after the completion of the funeral to move on with their lives now that their formalities had been done and over with…

He stood behind her, tucking his hands in his pockets and just standing there silently like a soul reaper eyeing his ripe soul lifelessly.

Shadowing above her to make sure she was alright…

Tsunade just stared on at the names engraved upon the headstones lifelessly, brushing her fingers over the names every now and then before wrapping her arms around her legs and continuing on to stare blankly at the graves.

She knew someone was behind her, she could feel it even though not having her senses expanding she knew who it was. But it calmed her down knowing who it really was.

Only one idiot was foolish enough to keep an eye over her while letting her do as she pleased, just like always. Both just stayed in silent, neither having anything to say to the other.

"I'm going to stay here for a bit, you can go home…" she whispered after half an hour of silence had stretched on between them.

She got no answer…just like she had expected. Not even a small edge of movement came from the shadow that loomed over her from behind.

She fell silent once more and looked on at the grave-site as dully as before.

A soft yet ice-cold breeze whizzed over the whole village, making Naruto brush the golden locks that flailed over his eyes and looked on at the girl who was rubbing her arms together to protect herself from the cold with narrowed eyes, now shimmering with a hint concern in their deep recesses.

His eyes hadn't reverted back to their blue counterparts ever since they had first turned crimson today and didn't look like they would anytime soon…

"Naruto…" her soft whisper made the tomoes circle in his eyes a bit right before he stepped a bit closer to her, to let her know he was there for her like always.

"I'm cold." her words were simple, and he knew what she wanted in a split second.

Ever since they were kids, he would lend her his jacket to wear whenever it was cold and they were out and about. Never caring how he felt himself, masking his own frigid state to show her he could make do so as to not make her feel bad about taking advantage of him.

He personally could take care of himself as long as she was alright.

Misa had always teased him as being her personal walking, talking ball of blanket after all…

He shook those depressing thoughts off and just stood there for a moment, yet after a deep thought he found there was nothing he could do. He was wearing a black kimono shirt as was the custom for funerals, so he didn't have his jacket on him.

He would have to leave her alone to go get it for her.

Tsunade herself knew he wasn't wearing one, she just wanted to be alone for a little longer with her parents. But he didn't have to stay here for her and torture himself just for her sake, he could go home and get himself a jacket and something to eat while he was at it…

Her thoughts trailed off when a pair of arms snaked around her stomach from behind, pulling her back between a pair of legs and a firm chest supported her back in a snugly embrace.

The young Uchiha's chin rested upon her shoulder while he held her protectively in his arms, away from the cold breeze blowing around them.

He couldn't leave her alone now…

He just couldn't leave her when she needed him the most…

Tsunade actually let her lips curl upwards and smiled softly, all the while hiding the lower half of her face in her thighs. He wasn't the warmest person to hug in the world, actually he wasn't as warm as she was. That much she knew from the years she had spent hugging him to death on countless occasions up till now.

But he was always there for her, just like this moment…whenever she needed him.

And he would always be the warmest person for her in those times.

She could always fall back on him and rely on him to make her feel like this…

To make her feel safe.

Her body started quivering in his arms, not from the cold but from the way he was breaching her barriers and poking into her inner turmoil with his calming presence that was now wrapping all over her heart.

The moonlight shone over the two, their shadows stretching on in the memorial grounds while darkness started taking over the night completely in it's wake.

Any other day, someone might have found the sight in front of them to be adorable.

But today it was different.

Naruto gave a gentle squeeze to her waist, placing his lips on the back of her head softly and she curled up into an even smaller ball than before as soon as his tender gesture was done.

"Naruto…" her voice started cracking, and it took all his will to not let his chakra flare angrily. But it did coat him completely, the deep menacing purple surrounding him made the night scavengers hovering around the fields fly away from his menacing presence as it started filling up his surroundings like an engulfing flood that couldn't be stopped by anyone.

The oppressing aura would have alerted anyone to be on guard for an attack…, had there actually been anyone present within their vicinity.

It did that for anyone but the girl in his arms, for her it was as if it were a protective layer that was now coating her from anything that could so much as touch her in that moment.

"Shh…" his gentle voice cooed in her ear, flipping the small ball in his arms a bit sideways to settle her comfortably on his lap and letting her bury her face in his neck.

As soon as her arms wrapped around his chest, her soft sniffles raised up into loud wails of agony. Her own humongous chakra reserves started going haywire with each wail she let free of her own confinements.

But unlike the young Uchiha's, the Senju heiress's was a bright golden that made a light and sad aura. It would have made anyone cry from the emotions that swirled within it's torrent, and it did do so for Naruto who cried silently upon feeling the pure anguish in her cries.

The way she clutched his chest like a lifeline, and the way she pushed her face in his neck to let out all her inner turmoil almost made him go berserk while his eyes glowed in the dark recesses of the night like shining crimson rubies.

They shone unlike anything they had done ever before.

Ever.

"Narutooo…." she wailed out loud and clutched his shirt tightly in her fists, whimpering in anguish and he gently started rocking her back and forth like a little infant to sooth her pain. Placing soft kisses on top of her puffy cheeks every now and then, while he merely stayed silent and cooed soft whispers to let her cry it all out once and for all.

Unlike anyone else who might have consoled her that it was alright, or that everything would be fine.

He stayed silent.

It wasn't alright. Her parents were dead. They were never coming back. The hole that had been created in her heart would never be filled, ever.

 _Just like the one in his heart had never been filled…_

Their chakra swirled in tendrils around each other, making a small and dazzling show for the spectating owls in sight whose hooting had ceased at seeing the strange phenomenon in pure curiosity.

The bright golden swirls dancing along with the menacing purple in perfect harmony.

The sight almost seemed majestic…

Like Yin and Yang dazzling together in unshaped circles.

Her agonized wails and loud whimpers gently started dying down into little sniffles while both their chakras receded back within their bodies after a few minutes.

Tsunade laid her puffy cheek on his shoulder with a tired plop, sniffling every now and then while enjoying the gentle fingers that were coursing in her hair on instincts alone right now.

Naruto himself felt quite drained, but blamed it all on the emotional toll this day had been taking on him.

And for some stupid reason, he felt like he had absorbed a part of her pain within himself.

"Naruto…" her voice sounded so weak, so frail. His eyes traveled a bit to the side to gaze sadly upon the fragile looking girl in his arms. It pained his heart to see her chirpy face like this, it didn't suit her in the slightest.

"Hmm…" he hummed softly, placing yet another soft kiss on her head while she snuggled childishly in his arms when another cold breeze flew past them.

Quite frankly, he didn't have much energy left within him right now to waste it on words any further than he needed to…

"Why did they have to die?" her soft voice asked in a tired whisper, his own Sharingan eyes glancing into her half lidded eyes sadly.

There was only one thought that came to his mind after a small dark flashback in his vision of the sight that was etched in his memory for all eternity.

"It's war Tsunade." his answer was simple, and he knew as blunt and insensitive as he might have sounded…

It was the only truth.

Though he did hug her even more tightly when her eyes started filling up with even more unshed tears as soon as his words registered in her mind.

His words struck a cord in her heart too. So what if it was war? Why did they have to kill them for absolutely no reason, whatsoever.

"But they were simple medics Naru, they were doctors. They helped people…" she whispered in a small tired argument, letting her eyes droop sleepily with a small yawn escaping her lips involuntarily on it's own.

Her words did make him think of the truth behind them. And as much as he was loathe to admit it…she was right.

"I don't know." his words and voice were absolutely honest.

He really didn't know what to sat to that and she fisted her eyes off her renewing tears, almost on the verge of falling asleep any passing moment now.

"Why did they have to kill them? They were nice people…" her tired voice trailed off in between her words and she let the sweet nothingness of slumber consume her mind mid sentence.

Naruto cradled the back of her head with his palm tenderly, pulling her face closer in his neck to hide her from the cold while feeling her soft sniffles on his sensitive skin every second.

"I don't know princess, I just don't know…" he whispered to no one in particular, sitting there numbly with a half asleep girl in his arms for a while.

To let her fall into a deep sleep lest he be the reason to disturb her peaceful face like this.

He loved to watch her sleep ever since he had first seen it. She looked so innocent and adorable like this, with no care of the world whatsoever whenever she slept.

No matter what, she always slept like a log in his arms…

He scooped the girl up in his arms bridal style when he felt her breaths evening out completely and disappeared into the darkness of the night. He needed to take her to his house and tuck her in a comfortable bed.

He too needed some sleep, and would most probably skip out dinner tonight…

* * *

 **Meanwhile at the Konoha Hospital…**

* * *

"What's the status?" a shinobi asked, his face covered with a white surgical mask while his hands held a pair of scissors and tongs in each of them respectively. He was wearing a pure white overcoat covering his chunin dress underneath, but upon realizing the situation he let out a weary sigh of exhaustion.

"We've done all that we could. Lord Tobirama is stable for now, but the rest is out of our abilities…" a nurse answered him tiredly herself. The chief medic looked on defeated at the two patients lying on the stretchers in front of him.

The most high profile ones he had ever had the privilege of treating in his short career mind you…

"We must make haste. Where is Mito-sama? Isn't she here yet?" he asked the small medical team circled around the two in haste and impatience, but got no response from any of them.

As if on queue to his words, the doors to the operating chambers opened all of a sudden. The Uzumaki heiress, still clad in her ceremonial black robes walked in with tired bloodshot eyes and her face lacked every ounce of it's usual charm or glowing gracing it usually held, like everyone was used to seeing each time.

Her soft steps being the only sounds in the awfully quiet chambers apart from the small beeping the machines were letting out, attached to almost every part of the two patients lying lifelessly on their operating beds.

"Mito-sama…" a nurse gasped softly seeing the condition the woman was in. She looked ready to drop unconscious with those eyes that were currently resembling her hair, and her face had lost most of it's color as if she were the one who was sick in the first place.

Not one of them had the heart to call her out on her appearance, it was only natural for a woman to look that way, one who had just been to the burial of her children merely hours ago.

"How are they?" Mito's voice was strict as usual, but the hints of tiredness were apparent to almost everyone surrounding her.

A clipboard made it's way into her palms, courtesy of a nurse standing nervously by her side. Just the presence of the regal aura the woman usually held around others was enough to make any lesser person who she didn't consider close to herself to be in such a condition no matter who they were.

Her violet orbs danced around the scribbled medical notations expertly, almost fluidly taking in each and every point worth noting and discarding the useless information almost instantly.

The corner of her lips twitched upwards in a little smile as soon as she reached it's end, at least not everything today had been a venture in darkness…

"Tobirama is alright, _I'm glad…_ " she whispered in relief, the last part to herself but it was audible to everyone besides her pertaining to the silence that had enveloped the room with her noble presence. Her aura affecting it as soon as she had step foot in these chambers.

"Yes…" the chief medic spoke pushing his glasses up and he nodded proudly. They had been able to nurse their Kage out of his life threatening injuries after all.

"What about Sasuke?" she asked, looking at the man who had dozens more machines still strapped onto him with a ventilator and life support systems keeping him breathing, almost forcefully in fact.

The air around the redhead became solemn and her lips dropped into a tight purse as soon as her gaze landed on the negative shake from the man.

"It is beyond our abilities…" he motioned the nurse beside him to hand the second clipboard to Mito, that she promptly did and the heiress almost snatched it off her hands and quickly went through the thick reports as quickly as she possibly could.

Finally she let the pages fall and looked on at Sasuke's still form with narrowed eyes.

"Lord Sasuke has been poisoned with a lethal drug that is attacking his chakra system to decrease his immunity and healing abilities quite drastically. The drug itself isn't lethal…" he trailed off seeing the Uzumaki raise her hand to make him stop his short .

"...it is his condition that is making it lethal, I know." she finished his summary calmly, and the doctor couldn't help but feel like a child in front of his instructor as to how calm she still was even after knowing what they had just let her know.

"If only Lord Hashirama were here…" he whispered to himself, but Mito picked up on it in an instant. Her features dulled even further if that was even possible, and her eyes held a far away gaze remembering the extreme prowess her late husband had in the medical arts.

People still spoke volumes of his skill even after more than a decade of his death, it was still said that the late Senju clan head held the art to pull out a soul from a Shinigami's hold if there was even a single breath still left in his patient's body.

That was the true testament of the skill the Shodaime Hokage had left within his legacy…

"Mito-sama…" a nurse gently shook her shoulder, the heiress blinked innocently realizing she had spaced out and turned her attention back to Sasuke whose life still lay in the balance, with it's tip right now favoring the darker side.

But she wasn't Hashirama's wife and hailed the best medical kunoichi in the entire elemental nations for nothing.

Even if her skills paled in comparison to her late husband's, she was still confident enough to say there weren't more than a handful of people who could argue that she had a substantial knowledge in medical anatomy and healing skills.

"Will you please take Tobirama and get him into a secured ward…" her voice broke the thick silence that was starting to settle in between them. All of them blinked, then blinked again at hearing the distraught woman answer…order them so calmly.

It was almost as if…

"Should I repeat myself?" this time though her voice was strict. A couple of nurses nodded vigorously and ran out with a stumble to inform the Hokage's personal guard situated just outside of the change of location they had to do.

"Are his wounds healed completely?" she asked the chief medic curtly, who shook his head in negative.

"No, we tried using some medical ninjutsu but…" his voice trailed off seeing the heiress not even paying attention to his words in the slightest.

"Get me some clean water." she spoke to no one in particular, and the chief medic himself brought it to become her assistant for the time being. The chance to learn from one of the best was still too great to pass up.

He kept the shallow steel bowl by her side, while the Uzumaki heiress dipped her left hand in it and closed her eyes to take a deep breath. She concentrated completely upon herself to get control of her emotions, a medic's downfall came only when he treated a patient while his mind was lying elsewhere.

That was the rule she lived by to this day, preached to her by none other than Hashirama Senju himself.

A moment late her eyes opened, she circled her hand in the bowl and pulled it out. A clean globule of water surrounding her palm and she clasped it within them in a clap with her right one to cover it as well.

Her palms danced around each other, the chakra within the water doing it's work and the water started turning a bit discolored each passing moment.

The chief medic's jaw almost dropped when she put the water in an empty bowl and her palms were cleaner than he had ever thought it was possible for human hands to be.

He had no doubt they were cleaner than the sterile rubber gloves he himself was wearing right now. The difference in their skills almost sounded laughable to him right now.

Mito looked on at the several open wounds that were stitched precisely and quite expertly she had to admit, but were still bleeding that made it quite useless in her opinion.

If not for the transfusion blood they were wasting to keep him stabilized, he would have been dead quite a while ago…

But bygones were bygones, she spread each of her fingers apart in both of her hands. Closing her eyes to concentrate deeply on the task, her palms glowed blue with a chakra coating now covering them.

The chief m0edic who was assisting her watched on mystified as the chakra in her palms started concentrating towards her fingers, before completely closing in on her fingertips.

Mito snapped open her eyes, her fingertips now containing a sharp chakra tip within each of them. She curved her fingers inwardly except for the index fingers which flicked off the stitches over her patient's wounds in a split second.

Her assistant's heart almost went into a cardiac arrest when he saw what she had done, especially when the machines connected to him beeped in a state of haywire.

But he dared not utter a word and disrupt the focused woman's concentration. If not for her, he would die anyways in a few hours.

So it was for the better, at least for now.

Mito joined each of her hand's spread apart fingers with each other. This time she closed her eyes with a vein appearing near her temple from the immense focus she was letting on in her task. She let the chakra tips on her fingers connect to each other and spread her arms apart with five long chakra threads created with pure medical chakra apart from each other to stretch out there lengths incredibly.

The man by her side had his jaw dropped comically this time as he gazed at the five green threads connected to her right hand. Medical chakra was almost precariously hard to control, but to weave it into a chakra thread as precise and controlled as that…

Though he nearly fainted when Mito's hands started blurring all over Sasuke's body, that were now weaving and joining the ends of those chakra threads in mid air.

They were too fast for anyone but a Sharingan user to follow, and for the man's eyes it was just a dome made of green chakra threads that was now formed over Sasuke's body while Mito's hands blurred almost aesthetically over him with a practiced ease that showed how versed her knowledge and kinship was to human anatomy.

Mito weaved those threads through his wounds, sewing them together with her free hand to control their trajectory and turned it's ends to the next wounds without ever breaking or joining them, for as soon as she did that her technique would fall and become useless.

In nearly two minutes, Sasuke was wrapped up in a strange green cocoon of webs upon webs of medically enhanced chakra threads that now had each and every one of his wounds stitched, except for the large gash in the middle of his chest that had just a corner of it's flesh wound now still opened. Mito gracefully moved her fingers over the arc of said wound, the green threads sticking to each of it's open lip like ends and joining together like gum.

She focused a bit more of her chakra onto the last corner of his wound to make sure that the only joint holding those stitches wouldn't fall apart on her.

She broke of her hands from the chakra threads a moment later, her face now shining with sweat, while she felt even her legendary reserves now down to nearly complete depletion. The reason being, she didn't have the necessary control to perform this technique due to her status as a Jinchuriki. But she did compensate for that fact by wasting almost ninety percent of the chakra she expended into thin air, while using the remaining yet controlled ten percent for the technique to be executed.

The assistant by her side caught the woman almost on instinct when she started falling sideways while feeling a bit light headed now that the pressure was over her and her patient was now safe.

"My lady, are you alright?" the man asked her worriedly, she merely smiled with half lidded eyes and nodded. Balancing herself back up, she waved the man off to tell him she was fine and dandy, just a bit tired from that magical looking technique.

"He will be alright now, those chakra threads will hold the stitches as if it were his own skin for at least a weak." she whispered, the man handing her a wet towel to let her wipe her face that she did take gratefully.

It was amazing, almost unbelievable that stitches made of chakra existed without even a single joint. He had never seen such an incredible technique in his life!

With a week without having to worry about the stitches, they could hook the man up with a permanent fill of glucose to flush out the poison from his system naturally without any complications whatsoever.

"Keep him on glucose…" she whispered and clutched her head that now spun like a top. The man by her side caught her shoulders and seated the woman on a chair to let her regain her senses.

He now saw the toll that had to be paid for such an incredible technique.

To think that the most powerful of Uzumaki's had been drained dry off her chakra in mere minutes, it would probably kill off any normal person in a couple of seconds before they had even activated the technique.

This was why he had never seen the technique or even heard of it ever before he realized…

And the testament to her skills came from the fact that she had stitched up everything with a practically blind eyesight. So fast were her stitches, that her eyes couldn't have possibly followed those movements being a woman who didn't possess the Uchiha's legendary visual prowess.

So the only possibility it left were her instincts. The fact that she had laid out thousands of micro stitches in a couple of minutes would have been laughable, if not for the fact that he had witnessed the amazing phenomenon first hand with his own two eyes.

"But…" he gave her shoulders a squeeze to tell her they could handle it from now on. The woman was still trying to instruct them being half unconscious herself, it showed the utter determination her clan itself was famous for throughout the elemental nations.

"Listen to me…" she rasped out, her vision giving her black dots and she knew she would pass out any moment now. But she had to let these fools know what to do lest they lost Sasuke for good by being careless.

"Keep him on life support…" she whispered, and he was quite confused at her words since they were unnecessary but listened on silently at her instructions. "…his mind isn't responding to pain, his nerves were still during the surgery. Extreme blood loss…reason, keep him in intensive care. He'll be…coma…" she whispered incoherently before her eyes rolled back and the man supported her gently on the chair with a smile.

The woman really was amazing, to think she was actually analyzing him due to not being able to see her stitches and not let that time go to waste, was actually the mark of a crazy yet pure genius in the field of medical sciences…

He chuckled realizing his own words lacking any hints of humor, and went out to get the I.C.U. cleared up and ready for Sasuke to inhabit. And let one of Hokage's personal guard carry her back home to let her have a plentiful sleep, that she would no doubt want with her children at home right now...

 _She deserved it after all she had been through within the matter of a few past hours after all…_

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 _ **Author's notes : There is the next chapter, hope you all enjoyed it. Last chapter, a reader reviewed me that my grammar was childish and I apologize if you feel that way but I do try my best to improve as much as I can with each chapter I post. I love to write which is why I've been increasing my chapter lengths with my new stories as much as I could.**_

 _ **Now as for the story, I want to give a heads up that Tsunade will inherit Mokuton here. It was quite stupid in Naruto originally IMO that she didn't have it, being a pure blooded Senju and all. But here she will, so those of you that do not wish to read any further please do leave it her since my plot demands her to have it and do not leave any flames in anger for this particular issue afterwards.**_

 _ **I did try and show a side of Naruto that is hidden away from everyone under the shell of the loving happy thing he is. As for any mysteries, well let them be mysteries since they will make it much more enjoyable, ne?**_

 _ **I will add depth to my main characters and not make them completely bland like other authors tend to do unknowingly. None of them would be perfect, each having sides that one might like or hate but they will not be overly extreme rest assured.**_

 _ **So next time, we get new missions for our heroes with these events falling behind them, but these will act as the trigger for what is to come in the future.**_

 _ **So if you have any questions regarding what the future chapters hold, just keep them in your heart (*chuckles evilly*) and let the suspense build by putting you own personal thoughts and views in reviews.**_

 _ **So, as is the routine until next time keep reading and reviewing**_

 _ **Ja Ne ;)**_

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 _ **PS : As you all must have probably guessed by now, this is going to be loonngg story. So stay tuned for the long haul 'kay? Enjoy your weekend with this…**_

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 _ **PPS : IMPORTANT-If you have any ideas for improving my writing, do post them in reviews they'll help me out a lot.**_

* * *

 _ **NSE signing out.**_


	12. Recuperation

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Next Morning**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Uchiha Clan Compounds….**

* * *

The sun dazzled quite vibrantly over the village this fine morning. As if attempting to lift up the sorrows that had settled over the village's residents yesterday. It's sprightly rays peered in through the windows of the house, the same house that our two favorite blondes resided within.

"Mm…" moaned a female voice, clutching the stump like thing squeezed over her chest even more tightly than before. Her slightly rosy cheek nuzzled itself into the warm and soft thing that was enhancing her usually 'deep' sleep even deeper than before.

Though her eyes did squint a bit remembering that she didn't quite recall having slept in such a comfy place before her senses had dulled.

But she shrugged it off, she was enjoying her nap too much to care right now…

"Mm…" she moaned yet again, this time with a small frown marring her face. The soft thing beneath her cheek was wriggling, and she didn't like the disturbance once bit.

Yet again she smiled when that firm stump like thing within her grasp stopped moving and her breathing softened into little purrs.

"Mewww…" her eyebrows squinted yet again. This time in pure annoyance upon hearing the offending voice that threatened to disturb her slumber.

"Go away." her hand pushed down whatever furry thing was trying to poke her face. She smiled proudly when she heard a soft thump followed by a hurt mewl.

That would tell them to disturb her sleep…

"Mm…" she made herself comfortable, but let a sudden giggle escape her lips out of nowhere. Something wet and soft was tickling her hand dangling by the edge of the bed now.

"Stop it…" her soft whisper pleaded with a giggle, trying to brush off those tickling touches with gentle nudges here and there.

Finally, she had enough.

Her honey golden orbs snapped open with a squint, trying to focus themselves into the new lighting conditions with some blinks.

"Kiara?" her sleepy voice asked in question. The brown slitted eyes in front of her face blinked innocently, prompting her to return the gesture almost instantly.

Her eyes traveled a bit to the side, looking on at the chin that rested near her pillow side in a pretty awkward sleeping position.

Naruto sat on the floor by her bed. She knew she was in his guest room, the rest of them had traditional futons with this being the only modern room along with the living room downstairs in the entire estates.

She knew it's layout by heart now, but a soft smile broke on her face seeing her friend sleep soundly by her side - just for her sake.

She could guess what must have happened. He must have taken her here to tuck her in, but she had most probably caught onto his arm in her sleep.

And like always, her little baka hadn't tried to wriggle it off her grip (inhumanely strong, unknown to herself) or threaten to wake her up in any which way. He must have just sat by her side, watching her sleep until pure exhaustion claimed him too.

"Idiot…" she mumbled softly, her lip chewing on itself nervously. A little dust of pink still rested on her cheeks while a little shimmering tear prickled down her cheek and onto her pillow to make a little wet stain over the cotton.

"Mewww…" her free arm pulled the little cub in a tight embrace from the floor. She gave her furry white back some gentle rubs to get small purrs out of her favorite fur-ball.

All the events, now refreshed in her mind made her smile almost seem solemn while the tail of one little tiger started wrapping itself around her arm of it's own accord. She giggled tearfully feeling small licks on her cheek. She placed a kiss on the cub's nose upon seeing the contently closed eyes of her best friend's companion.

"Thank you Kiara." her voice whispered gently to the cub, loosening her arms for the cub to let her jump out and go downstairs with a happily wagging tail to show her gratitude to the girl for her petting.

"Naruto…" she nudged the boy awake, who woke up with a start. She let his arm free from her grip, watching sadly when he tried to regain some control over the stumped arm of his by shaking it and trying to reign some movement in his fingers.

She had after all clutched onto it all night long in a vice grip…

Her elbow leaned down on the pillow, sitting up slowly with none of her usual fervor present as before. Her face had turned blank like yesterday, visions of her parents graves…

"You sleep well…" she let herself be pulled into the light embrace, letting her face get tucked in his neck while he sat her gently upon his lap.

His voice contained all the concern in the world for her.

She felt so safe.

"Yes." her physical form was small in comparison to him, not by much but just enough to let her head be tucked under his chin while she rested comfortably upon his lap. His fingers started working out the kinks in her long locks of their own accord and she let him do as he pleased to them, just like she always did.

He was glad she hadn't cried herself in her sleep like he had done in his younger days. Just the memories of those lonely nights… the silence in the house that ate away at his very soul still sent shivers down his spine.

He'd be damned before he let her go through that hell again - and there was no hell worse than loneliness in his eyes.

So they sat in silence, relishing in each others warmth. For Tsunade, he was like the anchor to her self esteem right now. She could be herself around him without any fear of caring what she did.

She wasn't ashamed to admit she was overbearingly comfortable around her friend. Neither was she ashamed to show it to anyone.

She just didn't want to be alone right now.

"Princess…" just like always, his voice was calm and caring around her. "Mm-hmm…" her soft hum reverberated through her throat and the silent room. She was too cuddly and comfortable to speak right now.

Her eyes drooped a bit, a soft smile of contentment flashing across her lips when she rested her puffy cheek on his shoulder. It was just marvelous how quickly he could sooth her pain just with his presence alone, without ever doing anything other than staying silent and holding her.

A pair of fingers tucked under her chin, raising it up to have her look into those baby blue eyes she adored so much.

"Go and take a bath…" his words weren't finished before the girl was latched back onto his chest like a baby koala by wrapping up all four of her limbs onto his torso.

"No." her cute mumble actually made him chuckle. She hated being disturbed when she wanted to laze around, that much he knew by now.

But as much as he just wanted to let her nap and laze around like this…there were some somethings left to be done - still eating away at the peace within his heart.

"Hey…" her voice was squeaky. Anyone's would be when the person you were latching upon stood up so abruptly with you still firmly latched onto him.

"Naruto…" she glowered, though scrunched up her face when he placed a peck on her nose and tried to shy away from his nose poking the nape of her lips ticklishly. "…stop it." she giggled out loud, not realizing when he had entered through a door.

"Tsu-Tsu…" barely above a whisper his words registered in her ears. She hated that name with all her heart, it didn't help that he always referred to her in that context whenever she was like this.

It made her feel like an infant of sorts…

"Don't call me that…" it was almost a whine, her soft voice was nearly adorable when coupled with the face she made when she snuggled her face childishly in his neck. He petted her loose hair, which she quite enjoyed mind you if her soft whimpers were any indication.

"I have to put you down princess…" the way she sighed, he had to bite back his emotions at what was coming next. But she did loosen her arms when his palms supporting her hips went limp to sit her down…

 _ **SPLASH…**_

"KYAAA…" her shrilled shriek echoed throughout the house, and she waved her hands in the bathtub to make herself believe it had just happened - like really happened.

He chuckled…no laughed his heart out seeing the clear disbelief etched upon her face. She just couldn't believe she had been thrown into the tub…like he usually did with Kiara.

And that made it even worse, she was feeling like a pet of sorts at the moment.

Though she couldn't help the slight giggle that snaked past her lips seeing her friend laugh so genuinely. In a matter of seconds, both were laughing hysterically.

Finally their laughs died down, and left behind them were a completely soaked Tsunade with Naruto now sitting by the edge of her tub. He did cringe a little when she gently took a bit of water through her cupped hands to make the situation turn a bit even by pouring it down over his head.

"When did you prepare the tub?" curiosity finally got the better of her. Pushing some more water in her hand cups, she laid it down on his slightly dripping hair - again.

He didn't stop her…more like he couldn't upon seeing her so content and playful like she usually was before...

"You know Kiara is such a handful when it comes to baths, so this tub in particular has some seals to keep it's water warm until someone steps in and disrupts the chakra flow in them…" he trailed off seeing her flat look. It was a pretty high level seal, cool enough to boast about. But…

"Mito Baa-chan?" she stated more than asked, and he did turn a bit sheepish at having been caught so quickly. His face though, turned a little skeptical seeing a small glint in her eyes and the way she smiled was almost…coy.

"Oi…" his yelp didn't help in the slightest when her strong arms took a hold of his shoulders and pulled him in the tub too. The two started laughing and splashing even more hot water onto each other.

Their laughs and splashes ended upon seeing a single peering eye with a furry ear poking in through the opened door.

"Kiara, come to mama…" Tsunade cooed softly with open arms, but her form slumped in defeat when the furry thing ran away for dear life. "…she could listen to me once you know." she mumbled dejectedly, feeling a slight poke on her forehead only to see Naruto stepping out of the tub.

"Hey where are you going?" she asked innocently, completely oblivious as to how weird it sounded to anyone other than her - given their situations.

But Naruto knew better than to call her on it…

"Oh! If you wanted that, why didn't you say so earlier?" his voice contained all the innocence in the world. His hands started pulling up the helm of his shirt to take it off, and only then did Tsunade realize what he was talking about.

"HENTAI!" she shrilled almost comically, picking up the bottle of conditioner by her side on instinct and chucking it like a kunai at the laughing boy…who barely dodged the thing and had the presence mind to run out, lest he came in her grasp and got beaten down to a pulp.

Her body dipped down into the warm water nose deep, trying to hide her cherry red cheeks from no one in particular. Her arms wrapped around themselves and pulled off her wet clothes in the water to complete her bath.

" _Why am I so comfortable around him?"_ her heart pounded like a steam engine with her crazy thoughts running rampant in every recess of her mind.

She had to talk to her grandmother about this later on…

Her eyes widened just as soon as all her clothes came off. And only then did she realize that just a few minutes of laughs with him, and she had all but forgotten about her earlier problems.

" _That Idiot…"_ she mumbled in her head, knowing quite well he had done it on purpose. That thrice damned Uchiha was too smart for his own good sometimes.

Though the smile etched on her lips never left her face after that while she hummed a soft tune to herself while lathering herself in the tub…

Naruto stepped downstairs from his room after a bath himself, in his casual clothes comprising of a simple white T-shirt and blue pants. The shirt was emblazoned with a small clan symbol on the back of his neck - with that being the only embroidery upon the pristine fabric of said garment.

He blinked just as soon as he made the last step down upon hearing the knock at the main door. As far as he could think, there was no one who would visit him this early on in the morning. Though he shrugged and went on to open the door anyways.

"Yo!" a happy voice chirped up from the other side of the door, and the young Uchiha was quite surprised seeing these unexpected guests.

"Jiraiya? Orochimaru?" he asked out loud, only serving to make the white haired boy grin even more while the other was as blank as ever.

"What are you guys doing here?" he couldn't even think about manners right now. The two were never really that close of friends to him as they were acquaintances, with Tsunade being their moderator of sorts.

"We were worried about Tsunade you know, so we went to her house but it was empty. Even her grandmother's house was barren, so we asked around and everyone said to look here and well…" Jiraiya explained jovially, getting a nod from Naruto who turned to look at the yellow eyed boy. Who, in his honest opinion didn't look like he wanted to be here in the first place.

"He dragged me here." Orochimaru's voice seemed almost annoyed, and a look of realization washed upon the blonde who nodded innocently. Tsunade had a tendency to do that with him quite a lot too, so he could reminisce with the boy.

"Ah, well come on in. She's here…" he stepped aside and motioned them in before closing the door. The two did look around the palace looking house in slight awe. Even Jiraiya put his sandals nicely with just the calming aura the house seemed to radiate. It almost seemed as if the house was alive in his opinion.

"I guess you haven't had breakfast…" Naruto asked out loud, and the two boys blinked and broke out of their stupors before following him in like lost puppies.

"No were fine…"

"We haven't, we'll take you up on that offer Naruto-san." Orochimaru's curt voice cut in through Jiraiya's own, who glowered down at his teammate heatedly.

Well so much for being formal, he thought hearing the blonde boy laugh in front of him.

"That's great, have a seat…" both boys sat on the dining table while their host got on to work with their breakfasts.

"So where's flat ch-OW!" Jiraiya rubbed his ankle and glared down at Orochimaru who narrowed his own eyes back. "I mean Tsunade." he finally finished with an irritated grunt.

"She's taking a bath." Naruto simply spoke, not seeing the strange grin Jiraiya had upon hearing that.

"Naruto, can I take a look around your house?" Jiraiya asked innocently, and got an off handed affirmative from the boy who had immersed himself too much in cooking to notice it while Orochimaru was reading a scroll on basic sealing he had borrowed from his shelf.

Jiraiya disappeared into the shadows, blending into the walls after making himself invisible with a few hand seals and started stepping upstairs following the soft tune of humming coming from there.

And right on target…he had found his paradise.

" _Oh Kami, I can die peacefully now…"_ his nose dripped with a trickle of blood seeing her come out from the bathroom with nothing but a couple of wet pink towels covering her body and hair.

She looked so beautiful he mused with a blush, looking at her opening her slightly wet hair while wiping them off the water with dazed eyes.

She had her back turned to him right now and was standing in front of the closet, which was only a curtain to the peeping tom before the main show started.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity to the boy did her hands grab the edges of her towel and opened it up front. His mouth opened slightly with an even thicker nose bleed, he was just about to watch the doors of paradise open right in front of him!

As soon as she would turn…oh kami he felt like fainting…

Tsunade stopped just shy from letting her towel drop, she felt quite strange.

As if she was being…

…

…

…

…

Watched.

She molded a little of her chakra, just enough to let her senses cover the confines of the room. She smiled upon finding an all too familiar chakra source standing just behind her, and wrapped up her towel back again.

"Enjoy the show Jiraiya?" she asked sweetly, a bit too sweetly in fact. His dazed state broke when she snapped her eyes back straight onto an empty corner of the room, her eyes narrowed quite dangerously over it.

Jiraiya only managed to break out of his perverted reverie upon him, when he felt his senses tingle as soon as the insane blood-lust had taken over the room.

He did gulp audibly, seeing her look straight towards him that way - like she was about to kill him. And cracked her knuckles loudly to emphasize her point.

But what did increase his panic exponentially, was her smile. It was sweet…too sweet, and let's just say he had a feeling of foreboding at what was about to come.

"Tsunade…" he did the intelligent thing and dropped his **Transparency Technique** to come in her eyesight. To not aggravate her any further than he already might have, his palms flailed out in front of him almost helplessly and pleadingly in fact. "…we can talk about this slight misunderstanding…" he tried to reason with her and be the intelligent one here.

Not like she cared anyways.

"We'll talk…" once more it sent shivers down his spine seeing that awfully sweet smile coupled with her matching voice while she walked nearer and nearer slowly-almost like a stalking predator coming for his prey. "…once I'm done with you that is." and just like that, a shadow loomed over his form while he awaited his pending doom.

"AHHH!"

Both Naruto -who was working on the final touches over the prepared plate; and Orochimaru who looked up from his scroll blinked in unison upon hearing the blood curdling scream that came from upstairs.

"Wasn't that Jiraiya?" Naruto couldn't help but ask, and Orochimaru's tired sigh did help to confirm and confuse the boy at the same time.

Curiosity finally got the better of him, and he stepped out to have a look with the snake eyed boy in tow behind him. Maybe Jiraiya had fallen in the bathroom and maybe even gotten injured? Were Naruto's thoughts…

Orochimaru's thoughts were, on the other hand much too close to reality. He had a good idea as to what could have occurred given what he knew of his teammate over the past few months. And needless to say, he would be embarrassed quite a lot before being barred entry into a new place - again - like he had been privy to countless times before, courtesy of his teammate.

The one and only Jiraiya.

The scene was clearly one Naruto wasn't expecting. Orochimaru was. And he was right on the mark like always. Standing over a beaten and bruised lump of flesh that Naruto recognized to be Jiraiya, was Tsunade with a slight cock of her hips - still clad in only a wet towel to cover her now dried body.

The expression on her face was one of annoyance and irritation, but it changed quite quickly when she turned to her two other guests.

Her own golden orbs met azure ones, staring into each other for a moment before her eyes widened. A rosy blush flashed over her cheeks while she averted her eyes from his intense stare-her heart picking up it's pace considerably each passing moment.

She rubbed her right arm with her left palm to cover herself a bit more and tried to look at anywhere but those piercing eyes staring straight onto her face.

"He peeped on me." she mumbled in a whisper as if she was the one who had committed the act. And Orochimaru's slender eyebrow raised in amusement at seeing this new side of his female teammate. Needless to say, this was one side he hadn't seen until now - though it certainly was amusing.

Tsunade felt so embarrassed from Naruto's stare- she felt as if she would faint any moment now when he started walking near her. Though she was shocked when his arm snaked around her waist and cradled the back her head, the other one resting just above her hip to wrap her up in a warm embrace.

"You'll catch a cold like this silly…" he chortled her in a scolding tone, and only then did she realize how cold she was.

She was shivering.

His head turned around a bit, glancing at Orochimaru who nodded silently. The boy could understand his message quite clearly and left after picking up a dazed Jiraiya on his shoulders like a sack of potatoes and walked out a moment later.

Tsunade's eyes did widen when his hand caught the edge of fabric holding the towel around her body in a loose knot.

"Naruto, what are you…" he gave her a squeeze of reassurance to shut her up. "…trust me princess." and just like that, her drenched towel fell down.

On instincts alone she pressed herself to him tightly and squeezed his chest with her arms - almost painfully in fact.

"Don't look please." she whispered, her eyes clenched tightly to stop the incoming flow of tears that threatened to fall free any passing moment. She felt so self conscious right now, how much more embarrassing could it get?

Naruto's hands caught the helm of his own shirt and raised it up slowly to let it come over his head, and turned it forward to cover her head. His hands took a hold of hers to tuck in her arms in the sleeves and she didn't even realize when he had taken it off completely and pulled down the garment over her head with a soft plop and let it fall halfway down her thighs.

Tsunade finally peeked out from her embrace, blinking down at him with teary eyes and smiled a bit childishly feeling him brush her cheek with his finger to wipe off her tears without making her realize she was crying in the first place.

He failed miserably at that…

She tiptoed on her toes, raising herself to meet his height and pressed her lips on his cheek tightly in an innocent and grateful kiss for everything he did for her. Never once asking for anything in return. Her face hid itself in his neck before he could see her blushing face, all the time smiling and crying like crazy.

What she was crying for? She didn't know…, but she was. And by Kami did it feel right.

"Don't tell anyone…" her soft and honest mumble only served to prompt out one reaction from the blonde boy. A small wave of nostalgia hit him at having heard the same thing countless from her lips over the years, and he did the only thing he could think of in that moment while placing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

 _He laughed his heart out…_

* * *

 **Meanwhile at the council chambers of the village hidden in the leaves…**

* * *

The whole council having gathered in a haste as soon as the funeral proceedings were now completely out of the way - decided to get back onto business.

And the business, as it was so called - was a complete and utter mess. The entire village's infrastructure laid down by Tobirama was in a state of turmoil.

The man himself was in the hospital, for which there was no information as to what had occurred in a simple peace talk he had went to have with the Raikage regarding the small skirmishes near their borders.

It wasn't a big thing to be noted that the village did encounter these small bouts of violence every now and then, most of the times villages just chucked them down in between mission reports as if they were nothing.

But the fact that they were getting more and more frequent each passing month - and bloodier than what could be ignored in favor of the peace they were enjoying on the inside…had made situations quite tense between the villages as a whole.

And that was never a good thing.

Bad blood was already warm between Cloud and the Leaf as the ashes from the last war hadn't even settled completely, before these minor annoyances had started budding up everywhere like insects.

But the situation had become a lot more dire with the news that Tobirama himself was in the hospital and out of commission - for at least two months before he could return back to office in full health.

And to make the situation even worse than it already was, Sasuke had joined him in his voyage of injuries as well. Actually going as far as to be in a worse conditions than the fire shadow himself.

To top it all off with a cherry on top, no one other than those two - the ones clogged in intensive care - knew what had actually occurred at the small summit other than the victims themselves.

The victims who were out of commission mind you…permanently.

"Troublesome…" a small grunt made every eye in the room snap to the man who had dared to finally break down the thick half an hour silence, while everyone tried to absorb what had happened. "…we forgot that Misa and Roku were found dead with their bodies returned almost suspiciously back to us by an unknown source…" none other than the Nara clan head pointed out to everyone else.

And just like that - silence reigned supreme once more.

It was far too much of a coincidence for the Senju clan head to be injured at a supposed "Peace Summit" while his family was returned dead at the same damn time.

"Has there been any word from the Cloud?" the Hyuga clan head asked the others curtly to make some sense out of this web of confusion. But all he got was the expected negative shake of heads from everyone.

"No…" surprisingly, the Uchiha clan head decided to speak up and take an 'active part' in the village affairs for once. "…they are keeping tight lipped for any and all information regarding their own Raikage and what actually occurred at the peace summit." he answered and got a nod from the Hyuga who let out a weary sigh of exhaustion.

"We can assume then that they are in the same boat as us then?" Daichi Akimichi asked, getting a silent nod from the Yamanaka clan head sitting by his side at the U-shaped table reserved only for the clan heads and the Hokage himself - who reserved the now vacant Senju clan seat at the same time.

"Then I guess it can be assumed that there was a preemptive attack on the summit with both Kage's unable to come unscathed out of it…" the lazy statement of the Nara clan head got him looks that clearly said only one thing from each and every clan head in the room.

A look that said "Are you stupid?" glared down at him from each and every damn direction.

It was almost laughable that someone would try and attack a summit with at least four Kage level shinobi present in one location. The Kages weren't a title handed out to everyone - they were called that for a reason.

"It is quite plausible though…" the Hyuga clan head chimed in once more, getting weird looks from all around him at the sheer stupidity of that statement. "…I mean the resentment Komogakure holds against the Shodai Hokage isn't unknown to anyone. He did after all kill their beloved Raikage, while Tobirama-sama held off the rest of his forces from aiding or 'interfering' with their little fight." he goaded on undeterred.

And just like that, the council broke into a complete state of chaos. Each and every clan head started drawing on several assumptions and guesses of their own, or what actions must be taken. But just like Tobirama had expected to when he had handed over his powers to them, they couldn't come to even a single point that all of them agreed upon to have some sort of countermeasures prepared for any of their previous assumptions.

The power he had handed to the council was virtually useless without a single mind to focus it all…

* * *

 **Konoha Hospital…**

* * *

 **Reserved ward non-accessible to anyone but the people who had privy to it…**

* * *

Sasuke lay lifelessly on his bed, several machines hooked all over his motionless form. The only signs he displayed of even being alive was the slow rise and fall of his chest or the small mist he created within the oxygen mask covering his face.

With each beep the machines made, it gave his companion sitting by his side - looking none too good for the wear himself the time to think of everything that had taken place in their lives in the span of just shy of a couple of weeks.

His children…who were his responsibility - the responsibility his dead brother had left him with - were now dead. He hadn't even been conscious while they were buried, not like he had the right to salvation by offering his condolences having been so powerless while they were tortured, maimed and Kami knows what not in enemy hands for so many days.

And now…due to his rashness and utter foolishness, the contempt he felt at himself was almost palpable at the moment. All because of him, the only man who had stuck by his side all these years - the man who had looked after his back for countless battles and saved his life numerous times…now lay lifeless by his side.

He himself was alright, all due to his Senju genes empowering his physical resistance to those toxins. But Sasuke hadn't had that privilege with him. Even with all his experience, the man could have done only so much.

They were well past their primes after all…

And by Kami did he know - oh he did know - that if not for his chain smoking friend - he would be six feet under right now.

But this did give him the time to think. Each beep of those pulsing machines gave him a sign of remembrance of all that had taken place. To devise several presumptions about what had taken place, and how those events could be twisted in the most glorified way possible so that they came out on top.

Years of manipulating a complete village full of shinobi, and being called a master manipulator throughout the elemental nations did add onto the fact.

But the first thing that had made him a bit relieved was that they had come out of that hell alive and kicking. Even after all the cards being stacked against them, they had come out on top - again.

Survival was a win in his eyes each time he went into battle.

Surely, Kumogakure would be in turmoil right now. They would be absolutely furious - livid, even.

But what if they weren't?

What if they hadn't known what the Raikage had planned due to the scarce of information being leaked on that certain ambush?

It was certainly a scarce shot, that too by a long-shot. But it could pay off…

And it was possible, which made way for endless possibilities for him to manipulate and turn the tide in their favor. If they really didn't know, then maybe - just maybe - he could stall the villages before they went against each other. It would give the Leaf village just enough time to prepare for what was to come.

Heedlessly going into combat on the scale of a war between nations was not going to happen - not on his watch that is. And falling prey to an enemy trap had already _almost_ costed his companion and most trusted shinobi's life.

But for now, if his assumptions…more like gamble of sorts were true enough to pay off. It would be a ripe fruit prepared for their taking.

And the key point what made it all possible was that all the Raikage's men were dead. He was sure of that. That left no evidence of what would have happened for the Cloud to scrape out.

They were brought back to the Leaf's custody by Sasuke's summons no doubt about it, the monkey clan had been with them enough to know that the spoils of war were always to be reaped.

So the Leaf right now possessed all the victim bodies they had killed off in their battle royal.

All but those two baboons with jewelry coated hair.

And just the thought of those two - the key to this particular chain of manipulations - made him smirk. A smirk, a simple smirk that would have made even the Shinigami shy away from his face with just a mere glance right now.

As far as he could remember, their names were Kinkaku and Ginkaku. The Gold and Silver brothers, now he remembered those no named B-ranked shinobis in the bingo books.

But they were nothing like what their profiles spoke off. They were easily S-rank to begin with, without the fact that their blood was far too valuable than anyone who wasn't a royal Senju or Uchiha to him.

To think that the Raikage had kept those gems hidden from everyone in the world. And to do that, he would have had to keep their existences a secret from his own village too. For the fear of his own people leaking out the news of his trump cards wasn't something the Raikage would chance enough to take.

And that is where lay the crack in their walls that he would exploit to it's fullest potential - to make a whole damn funnel out of it for the Leaf to invade.

Now what would a Kage do…no scratch that. What would a village…now with their Kage MIA, do in such a situation?

A village whose Kage had gone off to meet with another one at neutral grounds would surely send a missive to the Leaf for answers, when everything they could investigate would finally come to a naught.

It would come to a naught.

Answers that would determine the fate of the Leaf in the coming few years now lay in his palms. He couldn't help but loathe the emotions that played deep within his heart at the thoughts that were now running rampant within his mind.

He loved it, he absolutely loved it. Just the thought of manipulating everyone made him almost turn giddy on the inside. How he could manipulate those with a lesser conscience than his own - that made up most of the damn world to do his own bidding just made each and every nerve he possessed tingle in delight.

All the while, them never even realizing what they had fallen prey to before they were far too deep into it to get out.

Just those looks when he was standing on top of their fallen forms, with them just realizing his plans to the fullest while the shine of life left their eyes.

That was what made him feel truly alive.

There was a reason even his elder brother was truly scared of him…no not him. It was his mind, the weapon he had far too much skill and knowledge to use that even scared the man revered as the 'God of Shinobi' out of his wits.

Even Hashirama Senju knew that after Madara Uchiha, the only person who had the power and mind to spark a whole war or to dampen it's flames to his own will, was his little brother.

Tobirama Senju himself.

And today he would do just that.

The plan was set in his mind, he just had to lay the pieces now. And then…

Let the actions unfold right before his very eyes…

The gentle click and creaking of the door made his neck snap to in the direction of said outlet. His own form slumping seeing his sister-in-law step in the room in her usual kimono but with a small clipboard - no doubt their medical reports - in her palm.

He just watched her come closer to him and averted his eyes down to his lap, his earlier thoughts all but lay forgotten now. He wouldn't - more like he couldn't bare to look at her.

Anything she did…slap him, punch him or even outright stab a kunai straight through his heart; he would take it without even hesitating…

"I'm glad you're alright Tobirama…" her arms wrapped around his head and pulled him close into her chest. Her warm embrace served nothing but to make himself feel even worse than before. The fact that she just didn't have the soul to hate him, made him hate himself even more so than before.

Mito could see his troubled eyes, for Tobirama Senju never was one to look away from a person's gaze. His pride was too great to avert his eyes from someone and he always met one's gaze with his own almost diligently each time.

But just the fact that he did so with her, told her just how much he was suffering on the inside.

She could comfort him, he was after all the only one she had left other than her two babies back home. Even though being his sister-in-law, she had always treated him like a mother of sorts. Chastising him for every little thing and making fun of each little mistake he made - which were far too scarce for her liking so she did learn to relish in those moments as much as she could.

He had always been strong for them, for everyone. He was the pillar that everyone looked up to, but she knew no one ever saw the troubled man within that shell.

And she was the only one who ever broke past his shell that way other than the people he allowed to get close to him.

 _All other than one person who wasn't with them anymore…_

Those people could be counted on one's fingertips, and still have some remaining…

"It's alright…" her soft whisper cooed him, running her fingers through his shaggy white hair gently. She could feel her kimono get a bit damp, but his shoulders never quivered or he let out even a small sound of emotions.

But she knew he was crying, this was as close you would get to seeing Tobirama Senju in pain.

He always cried silently out of everyone's eyesight.

"I'm sorry Mito…" he rasped out, the ventilator pipe chocked within his throat making it almost impossible to speak a full sentence. "…I'm so so sorry." he didn't ask for forgiveness. There was no forgiveness for this failure…

There would only be retribution.

"Shh…" the lady hushed him up, continuing on keeping him in the embrace for as long as he needed it. And when he clutched the back of her kimono in his fist and curled up slightly in her arms - she smiled.

"I'm so sorry, forgive me…" he asked for her forgiveness. He needed it, the thought of his own family hating him was just too much to bear - even for him.

Even if she lied and didn't mean it, just the words alone would give him enough to go on doing his work just as before. Until he had completed all of his responsibilities.

"There's nothing to forgive, you did all that you could. You are human too Tobirama, no one is perfect. Don't try to be one, it never ends well." she whispered wisely, making him - Tobirama Senju…the man hailed as the smartest person in the world right now - feel like a child in his mother's arms.

She always was the wiser one of the two when it came to moments like these. And she had the biggest heart out of all the Uzumaki's -( and that was saying something )- in his mind.

"Mito-" he rasped out, coughing slowly when his throat finally gave way while she patted his back gently. She was quite surprised when he caught her wrist in his own and twisted it around slickly.

The brush and ink slip she always kept in her sleeves was swiftly taken away from her before she could even realize it and he tore apart a page from her clipboard much to her horror.

"Tobirama, what are you doing?" she almost shouted out loud in the silent room. "You're in no condition to work…" her voice died down in her throat when he raised his index finger in the air to shut her up.

It was the intimidating tick of Tobirama Senju that meant he was serious about something. And Mito knew one thing quite well - a serious Tobirama Senju was never a good thing.

So she let him be - for five minutes that is. After that deadline, Hokage be damned - she was the first lady of this village for pretty good reason.

And she would have to show it to him if push came to shove. And make him rest - forcefully, if need be.

And he did complete his task in three minutes, his skilled hands gliding across the paper and smearing Kanji in swift and elegant strokes. He handed her the ink seal and brush back, which she tucked back in her seal and Tobirama went through a couple of single handed seals.

His index and middle finger glowed blue with chakra, the Kanji for Fire dazzling on it brilliantly which he stamped at the end of his letter.

The official seal of the Hokage's order to his council had been set. And to top it all of, he wouldn't have to listen to their annoying bickering due to his condition.

Being in a hospital certainly did have it's perks.

He handed her the paper, and she looked at him to ask if she could read it.

The negative shake of his head made her fold up the letter and tuck it in her sleeve almost instantly.

"Council…" he rasped out and she nodded, pushing the man back gently by her palm upon his chest to make him lie down. He did let her do it, and grunted in relief for the support.

He was quite tired now. It was funny to think how some injuries could make even a pure blooded Senju like him to get tired…

"I'll get it to them tomorrow morning…" she said that on purpose, or else he would be forcing her bring him updates almost as soon as she got them - or worse - get someone else to do it.

So it could wait a little while, and she could have her own over due attendance at the council chambers too while she was at it.

He didn't have the energy left to argue with her and let his eyes droop for a nap while she stepped out. Leaving the room silent with nothing but soft breathing muffled by the beeping machines behind in her wake.

Her tapping heels stepped out out of the secured hospital wing before coming into the main lounge at the receptionists desk and stepped out of the main doors of the building. Making her way for the gate, she stopped hearing an all too familiar voice call out to her from the front and breaking her out of her slightly troubled reverie.

* * *

 **Outside the Hospital...**

* * *

"Baa-chan!" Mito looked on at the four people coming towards her from the gates and she did smile seeing her little girl actually chirp back to life.

Though her slender eyebrow did arch upwards in amusement seeing her attire. Her red skin tight shorts were fine for a kunoichi her age or any girl her age to wear. It showed her how serious of a girl she was regarding her training and life.

But her T-shirt was the point of her current interest, it was two sizes too big and was a bit loose on her neck that made it hobble left to right with each passing step the girl made.

Clearly she didn't ever remember Tsunade owning such a garment, she wouldn't have let her granddaughter walk around in such unrefined attire. It was just unbecoming for her little princess to walk around like that.

But the girl almost took her breath away when she saw her chirpy smile, and the giggle that escaped her lips when her small form crashed in her chest couldn't have been stopped by Kami herself.

Her loose kimono sleeves hid the girl completely in her embrace while her lips pressed themselves on her head softly.

"How are you sweetie?" her voice was as gentle and caring as ever, the girl snuggled in her grandmother's arms upon feeling her nuzzling nose on the top of her head.

"I'm fine…" her muffled voice answered back almost instantly from her chest. She loosened her iron grip on the girl, and cupped her cheeks to look some more at that smile she loved so much.

But it quite surprised her seeing a permanently marked pink hue plastered over her cheeks, now this intrigued her quite a lot. Whatever had happened, her granddaughter was truly happy. And she was glad for that.

Tsunade turned around in Mito's arms slightly to look back and waved back happily at the three boys following her.

"Oi be fast, you're not that old yet…" Mito bit back her chuckle seeing Naruto's ever aloof walk making Tsunade bristle at the failure of her taunt.

A blonde boy walking with his hands tucked in his pockets with no care in the world, could annoy quite a few people if he intended to mind you…

Only then did Mito's eyes narrow in on the fabric near the back of Tsunade's neck reveal itself from behind her flailing high pony tail. It was just a small symbol, but it opened up a world of possibilities in her mind.

An Uchiha crest.

Her lips curled upwards almost wickedly, oh now this was truly getting intriguing. Now she understood why the shirt was two sizes too big, it was her apprentice's shirt.

So why was Tsunade wearing it?

Oh kami she might shave off a few years of her life in assumptions alone…

The teasing material she'd get out of this was endless…

The little smile on Naruto's face when he gave her a small nod of his head told her he had been the primary reason of her little tomboy's happiness, like she had expected off him.

"Stop shouting flat-chest-ow ow ow ow…." Jiraiya winced and twisted his body when a hand was pulling his ear quite painfully, courtesy of an irate Uzumaki heiress.

"Is that any way to speak young man?" Mito scolded the boy, who shook his head in her grip and Mito let him go. She did bonk gently Tsunade who was sticking her tongue out proudly at a fuming Jiraiya and looked on at their third teammate - Orochimaru if she remembered correctly, was his name.

She smiled and petted his head when he gave her a polite bow, these little ones were just too adorable in her eyes. As adorable as shinobi could be that is…

"Naruto-san?" Orochimaru's voice did surprise everyone, and Naruto looked at the boy in slight interest. He hadn't spoken much ever since he had first met him, so this was a surprise.

"Can we have a spar if you don't mind?" the request surprised everyone, Mito included.

Jiraiya though…

"Hey what's that supposed to mean? You never ask me that, am I not good enough for you?" the flat look that Orochimaru should have answered anyone, that is anyone other than Jiraiya. So the boy decided to answer it out loud and cut his musings short.

"No." his simple answer didn't make Jiraiya as angry as Tsunade loud giggles did. He was becoming a fool in front of his own crush! Even Mito and Naruto were biting their lips and trying to stop their shaking shoulders from bursting out into laughter seeing his fuming red face.

It seemed as if steam would sprout out from his ears any moment now…

"Why you damned bastard-ow ow ow ow… I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" he chanted on while his ear was being pulled painfully by Mito for another lesson in language.

The boys these days, no manners she sighed to herself…

"Yeah sure, I don't mind. I could use a stretch myself." Naruto answered with a lazy shrug, stretching his back to work out it's kinks from getting no training at all for two days straight.

He could do with a spar, and see what Orochimaru was made of at the same time.

Both boys started walking out, while Jiraiya ran after them while shouting out profanities at them for ignoring him completely - again.

He was too far for Mito to punish lest she used her chains so she let him go - for now.

"Hey, I'm coming too…" Tsunade words stopped abruptly when a palm clasped her shoulder firmly, courtesy of a smiling Mito who wasn't letting the girl go quite so soon.

"Where do you think you're going young lady?" the oblivious blink her girl gave her, almost made Mito crush the girl in a tight hug and never let her go.

"With them." Tsunade asked more than said, and she became even more perturbed when Mito's arm snaked around her shoulders while her index finger patted the small embroidery on the back of her neck.

"Oh…" her voice was rather amused, which further served to confuse the Senju princess even more so than before. "…but we have much to talk about sweetie, especially this shirt and the story behind it _my little Tsunade…_ " the way all the blood rushed to her face while horror flashed in her eyes, and the way she sputtered out denials in incoherent mumbles made Mito laugh out loud all the while pulling the girl with her. To have a rather long cup of 'tea' with her granddaughter.

Needless to say, Tsunade just didn't have any respite that day. No day was as embarrassing as this one until that point in her life. Especially when a probing grandmother milked out all the details of that morning and teased her to no ends for it - and would probably continue to do so for many days to come.

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : There is the next chapter. Hope you all liked it, because I certainly did enjoy to write this one. I decided to add a bit more life into this one to balance out the darkness in the previous one, so that the story doesn't become too bland or monotonous at any point and remains interesting.**_

 _ **Next chapter will be Orochimaru vs Naruto and a new mission for them along with Tobirama's plans starting to pick up it's beginnings. Well I guess all chapters are interesting in this fic, eh? :P**_

 _ **I tried to keep the writing as tight as possible and went with a little change here and there, nothing too noticeable but just enough to make it feel a bit more refined as per the flaws I've been pointed out every now and then.**_

 _ **Well that's it I guess for now, enjoy your weekend with this and just like always keep reading and reviewing Ja Ne ;)**_

 _ **NSE signing out.**_

 _ **;)**_


	13. Council takes over

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Next Morning**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Council Chambers…**

* * *

"He can't be serious?!"

Each pair of eyes in the room were as wide as saucers, disbelief etched on each of their faces. As if someone had just informed them that Madara Uchiha had suddenly risen up from his grave and was coming to enact his vengeance upon them for treating his grandson the way that they had - yes, it really was that serious.

A small sheet of paper scribbled with a few words, laying besides a small scroll kept to keep it company was the current source for disbelief among all the room's residents.

"I haven't seen Tobirama joking in…well…" putting a finger onto her chin, feigning all the conjured up innocence of the world - Mito quite enjoyed the looks of disbelief etched upon each of their faces.

She wanted to play on a bit further, but matters were rather grave for her of all people to start acting childish all of a sudden.

"But this! - How? - Well, Why?!" finally rasped out a flabbergasted Hyuga clan head - Hisatoshi Hyuga. Even the ever stoic Hyuga clan head couldn't hide his shock at hearing…more like reading what their Hokage was ordering them to do.

"He must have had his reasons, but rest assured he didn't deem it worthy enough for me to be made aware of. So, I am at as much of a blank as every last one of you." Mito's answer was curt, flowing with an eased and practiced precision that showed her title as an heiress and representative for her nation in the Leaf wasn't one for show - she really was of a noble and honorable status, and wasn't afraid to show it.

That did hush up all the whispering and bickering council members, each of them realizing the woman wasn't one for patience today, and wanted to see these orders carried out - right now.

"So let me get this straight -" drawled out an acutely attentive Nara, which as weird as it sounded, was certainly proving true today. "-our Hokage-" he did deem it worthy enough to remind her that he was their leader - as a whole. And not someone who only they had to worry about, or herself alone for that matter. "-and Sarutobi Sasuke went to have some simple peace talks with the Raikage at neutral grounds in the Land of Fire, as we were rightly informed of, just prior to the two's departure." he recited formally in the pin drop silent environment each of them were seated within.

Mito simply nodded, pulling a strand of her scarlet hair behind her ear to show she was listening - as much as she didn't want to, she was. Each of the other clan heads were eyeing her with scrutiny, to have some sort of reaction, even a little twitch of her ears to discern if her form would give away something to point out she knew something deeper than they did at the moment.

The Nara clan head, Ensui Nara, as much as he wanted to believe he might have read something wrong in the letter - already knew he had far too sharp of a mind to have missed out on something. And the ever noble and stoic face of Mito was actually serving to rile up his own nerves quite a bit in the present moment of time.

He took a deep breath, to make sure he _really_ was going to say this - his Hokage's words- out loud for the first time in this particular meeting. "The two of them attended the summit with Lord Sasuke acting as his personal bodyguard, _the only one_ _mind you_ _-_ " the suspicious tone in his last words wasn't lost to Mito, but she gave nothing away yet again - much to his and everyone's chagrin. Sasuke was one of their best, no doubt about that, but still something was fishy down here. Each of them could feel it within their gut. "- while the Raikage was there with a small contingent of his own jounins. As soon as they were about to enter the small village picked out for the talks, they were attacked. By these Gold and Silver brothers, B-rank Kumo jounins in the international bingo books. Who then proceeded to ambush them and killed everyone save - Kami thank us - one Sarutobi Sasuke and Senju Tobirama, while the remaining are now laid to a permanent rest. The victims, whose bodies have been recovered and are in _currently our possession to which we weren't notified until now-_ " he placed special weight on those words again to emphasize his point, though sighed wearily when Mito merely covered her mouth to yawn softly - great just great, she was the lazy one here…troublesome woman… he mused tiredly.

"- are to be returned to the Cloud envoy…that they will send to us when we respond to their missive that came in just this morning…" everyone eyed the scroll by the side of Tobirama's hand written sheet as if it were poisoned or would bite them any fleeting moment now. "…and have them, and each of one of our allies on both sides - that makes quite explicably the whole damn world - to put these Gold and Silver brothers, who were mere nobodies a couple of days ago as S-rank wanted ronins that have, and I quote, "Ambushed a peace treaty between two major hidden villages - namely the Leaf and the Cloud by attacking their respective Kages along with their escorts to disrupt said meeting. All in a vain attempt to cause strife thereby to wedge out conflict between said nations, and attempted to kill both the respective leaders while being successful in one - namely the Nidaime Raikage of Kumogakure no sato." Ensui finished his recital of the last passage from Tobirama's letter and silence reigned supreme as soon as he was done.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." was Mito's nonchalant reply that made everyone surrounding her to sweat drop.

"This is just ridiculous!" finally the Inuzuka clan head, the most volatile of the gathered bunch, had finally had enough.

"We have in possession of us five whole teams of Kumo jounin's, their best! Plus, the Raikage himself - which means we right now possess the secrets to his revered **Black Lightning** kekkei genkai with countless more of their secrets hidden in those bodies, and he wants us to hand them back to the Cloud?! Has he gone senile?!" the way Mito's eyes narrowed in on the fanged man while she leaned forward, plopping down her elbows on the table was quite an intimidating sight to behold for each one of them. Everyone knew the Inuzuka clan head had just stepped on forbidden territory when the temperature of the room dropped a couple of degrees short.

"Are you questioning the mental state of your leader Inuzuka?" the way she dropped any suffix while addressing him, made him quite attentive as to the position he was in right now. She, and Tobirama along with the whole of Senju and Uchiha were still the two great powers of this village. The Inuzuka's were still no where near in power as compared to the two mighty clans, one of which he had just foolishly managed to aggravate with merely a single statement coming out of pure brashness.

The rest of the clan heads were smart enough to sit back silently and avoid the strife of the already troubled and volatile woman, who at present, was addressing the impulsive idiot in front of her as if she were reprimanding a mere five-year-old.

"N-No my lady that wasn't my intention I merely…please do forgive-" his stuttering voice was cut off coldly by an irate heiress before he could sprout out any more words from his mouth.

"Mind your place…" her cold voice actually made every last one of them shiver. They were reminded why she was the current first lady of the village, and why everyone respected her as much as they did their late Shodai Hokage. "…and do remember next time that the one you so blatantly called ' _senile'_ is still your current Hokage, and you could be thrown in for treason as such. This is a military dictatorship even with the democratic clan laws in place, so do take that into heed the next time you speak." she chortled him down sternly, the man sitting down as pale as a sheet of paper while nodding silently.

Each of them knew she had a way with words, and when it came down to the wire - her temper was as legendary as the the mighty clan she hailed from.

"I apologize my lady." his voice was weak, and the strained…almost scared smile he gave her made him look as if he would faint any fleeting moment now. She gave him a curt nod, showing everyone she had accepted his apology, though didn't seem quite fond of it if her slightly annoyed expression was anything to go by.

She always was a mentor when it came to words, especially political maneuvers. Her bringing up had been as a noble heiress, and as such it was expected off of her to be that way. And she hadn't fallen quite that soft just yet - each of them were reminded of that point, quite vividly in fact in case of a certain Inuzuka.

The aura she still held made them remember she was right there at the top of the hierarchy without even ever announcing herself as such. All the while staying out of everyone's way until her presence was actually and absolutely needed by the village - just like today.

"May I ask why Lord Hokage is ordering us as such my lady?" the Yamanaka clan head was the one who had dared to ask while taking care of putting in all honorifics, himself becoming nervous when her slender eyebrow rose in silent contemplation for a few seconds that felt like an eternity to the man.

She had taken that pause on purpose…

"You may ask me." she answered simply, the corner of her lip twitching upwards ever so slightly in amusement seeing their stupefied expressions at realizing what she had just said. Every one of them released sighs of relief seeing her back to normal and not her 'noble' self anymore.

"Why is Lord Hokage ordering us this my lady?" Daichi Akimichi asked in a voice that reflected his own relief, and she tapped her index finger onto her chin a few times like before, thinking it through.

"That I do not know. He never deemed it to tell me and I never asked." her simple answer in her ever soft yet melodic voice made them all almost fall of their chairs.

Oh this was just too much fun for her, they were just too easy…

"Now I guess I'll take a leave. It's time for my afternoon tea and I wouldn't want to keep you gentlemen from getting back to your work." she pointed her sleek index finger at the stacks upon stacks of paperwork lying by each of their sides - that were replicating themselves each passing second to make their existence known to everyone.

Mito giggled softly in her sleeve seeing all their heads slamming onto the table in unison, reminiscing how her late husband used to do the same while Tobirama would then…

She stood up, turning to leave before she went further down the memory lane and drowned herself in the past sorrows she was so blatantly trying to escape from.

"My lady?" a call from behind her made her stop momentarily, and glance back to the man who had called her - surprisingly, turning out to be the same man she had just reprimanded a few moments prior.

"How is Tsunade-hime?"asked the Inuzuka clan head, concern and worry clear in his eyes. Mito's eyes softened hearing that, and seeing each of them eyeing her curiously - bar the Uchiha clan head who couldn't care less for the well being of a Senju, but still looked a tad bit interested himself mind you.

Mito remembered the talk she had just had with the girl just a while ago, she had teased the girl quite a lot. All the while pinching those adorable cheeks of hers until they were matching her hair, and subtly pointing out the fact of the direction the little blonde girl's feelings were taking her to.

It made her smile fondly in remembrance of her little girl, she really doted on her too much just like Hashirama had done before her. Tobirama was right, she let out a soft sigh…

"She's quite fine now, nothing to worry about." she answered the man in a gentle tone. A tone that made everyone's heart warm up seeing this motherly side of her coming out into the open. The effect she had on each of them was truly incredible - a moment ago she was frightening, and now a few moments later she was endearingly calm and caring.

It was the primary reason why each of them respected her so much, not that any of them would admit it out loud.

Akio Inuzuka nodded silently while a small smile flashed across his own feral features. As much as they all tried to hide it, each of them doted on the girl as discretely as they could just as much as her grandmother did so herself.

The love and care their beloved Shodai had showered on her in her younger days was still fresh in everyone's minds, and his loss a few years prior to it made the whole village treat her as royalty should be, in nostalgic remembrance of the man once hailed as a god among shinobi.

Never was she asked to pay for any food at the Akimichi restaurants, or for any other clan's services for that matter whether she had the money or not. Though due to Mito's way of raising her up and how strict she was in such matters, there were only a select few times it had actually come to pass.

So, it was only natural that each of them showed a little concern to the well being of said princess who had just lost her family a couple of days back. Her strangely blank demeanor had worried each of them quite a lot, and they hoped that she would be back to her prior self just as quick.

She was the light of the village in everyone's eyes after all…

Every one of them kept their eyes on the elegant woman who gracefully made her way out of the silent room. Without another word or so much as a look while turning around to the participants of the tense…, yet now feeling a little relieved and uplifted room at the same time. They really did wish she passed on parts of her same visage and noble character to her beloved granddaughter that she - no everyone - adored so damn much.

"Well-" once more Ensui became the moderator to break everyone out of their stupor as always. "-you heard the troublesome woman, let's get this over with." he drawled out in his usual laid back demeanor returning full force and each of them smiled with silent nods of agreement.

"Yeah, I don't look forward to another reprimanding…" muttered the Inuzuka clan head under his breath. Not realizing he had said it out loud until he heard a round of chuckles from everyone beside him, and chuckled in humor himself while throwing himself into the work that was still piling on silently by their sides - probing to almost bury them in it if they ignored it any more.

Needless to say, while none of them realized what Tobirama had actually done by twisting the truth was pointing all of the said blame onto two loyal Cloud shinobi and actually proving them to be traitors by fueling the fire in their hearts when the Leaf would return an intact, yet mangled corpse of their beloved Raikage back safely without any resistance whatsoever. All the while, the Leaf would cleanse it's own hands off the blame…at least in public and for the time being until further phases of the stone cold Senju's plans came to fruition later on down the line, there would be nothing the Cloud could do lest they ruined their image in front of the whole world.

Anyone would argue the point that turning a village against it's own shinobi - who were still loyal it - was completely unethical.

But that was just how Tobirama Senju was - uncaring of anyone's personal feelings. Cold, calculative, cunning, and a man who would do just about anything to see a situation as per he needed…or more like wanted to manipulate it as per his will.

He was just that kind of a man…

 _He was a true shinobi…_

* * *

 **Konoha Training Fields…**

* * *

"Go on Naruto, kick that bastard's ass…" the colorfully lewd, yet joyful cheer of an unexpected yet welcome spectator cheered on the two boys who now stood in the middle of a lush green and lively training field.

Jiraiya let out a loud whistle, not looking to give up the chance to see his uptight teammates ass being kicked - uh… untimely and regretful loss was more like it to be put explicitly.

"How are we going to do this?" asked Naruto, hands still tucked in his pocket while he tried to pry off his flailing long locks from in front of his eyes without needing to put his hands to use, unless he absolutely needed to.

He wasn't lazy mind you - he was merely…well…Efficient! Yeah that was it!

"No ninjutsu, killing or crippling blows. Anything, bar maiming and lethal or fatal blows goes…?" Orochimaru asked more than stated, and got a nonchalant shrug from his opponent who could see no issues with said rules.

"Alright then, Jiraiya you can be the referee of our spar…?!" Naruto's voice trailed off from one of indifference to that of a petrifying one when he saw Jiraiya grinning like an idiot while rubbing his palms together, as if he wanted to light a fire from his palm rubs alone…

Orochimaru just tiredly sighed, quite used to his teammate's antics by now and didn't bother wasting his time and resources on pointing out the idiocy of said boy to his attention - not like it worked when he did point it out the first few times…

"Alright then, we'll begin in - three… two… one…" Jiraiya counted down to build up the suspense, eyeing the two boys like a serious referee while raising his arm high up in the air.

Both boys turned a bit serious, Orochimaru flexing his hands at the fight he had long since been looking forward to test himself with.

"And Naruto wins!" both boys shot forward, realization setting on their minds a moment too late and both fell down on the ground face first while sliding close to each other comically. A loud smacking noise was heard throughout the clearings a moment later…

"How can he win when he didn't even fight yet, you idiot!" a loud girl voice shouted. A fist bonking Jiraiya softly on the head, lacking any of it's usual power behind it while the boy rubbed the small aching lump childishly. His form shrunk seeing his own female teammate and crush now standing by his side. A hand on her hips which were cocked to the side while an annoyed expression was plastered all over her face.

A pink hue still dusting her cheeks permanently that didn't escape the notice of said boy who was victim to her fist, while he mumbled stupid excuses like 'he would lose anyways' or that 'he was a loser' to calm the irate kunoichi down.

It did anything but that…

Her honey golden eyes turned to the middle of the clearing, looking on with an elevated eyebrow at the two boys who were dusting off their clothes while retaking their starting positions - again.

"And why haven't you two started yet? It's been quite a lot of time since I left you, you should have been done by now right?" she couldn't help but ask her little query out loud. It had indeed been a couple of hours in the morning since she had been with her grandmother - who was at her teasing again this morning.

Neither of the boys had sparred yesterday, both deeming it alright to rest first to make it a fair fight since Orochimaru had already had a gruesome training session the previous day that wouldn't have made his much awaited spar fair in his mind.

Naruto had no objections with another day of rest, those came few and far in between these days anyways. Who knows when he'd get another one like these?

"Well we were going to, but we then decided to have breakfast…" Tsunade rose an eyebrow seeing his sheepish smile while he rubbed his neck in his usual nervous tick she knew by heart by now. "…and we met them." Orochimaru pointed a finger that pointed above her, and only then did Tsunade raise her neck straight up to see two pairs of dangling sandals three branches high in the tree right beside her. Walking a bit to the side, she saw Sakumo and Duy munching on some dumplings from a bag while both waved at her - said dumpling skewers still in hand. She waved back at them happily out of courtesy herself.

"Hey what are you two doing here?" she asked in all curiosity and evidence, the former getting the better of her.

"We met them when they were coming here a couple of hours ago…" Duy spoke simply, picking off a dumpling in his teeth and Tsunade nodded but still didn't quite understand Naruto's nervous demeanor, or Sakumo's annoyed one for that manner.

"Naruto decided that I should treat him, and all four of them in fact, to some breakfast…" the silver haired genin narrowed his eyes accusingly at his teammate who stuck his tongue out playfully back at the annoyed looking boy high up in the trees.

At Tsunade's curious eyes turning to him for an explanation, said blonde boy decided to give her his part too. "I am out of money…" was his simple response, and Sakumo's further dangerously narrowing of eyes made Naruto look at him in defiance - as comical as it made the situation to Tsunade, she stayed silent to watch how it unfolded even further.

"And my money is for free right?" Sakumo asked back, lacking anything but some playful anger that only Tsunade could tell after all the years she had spent with the two, apart from Naruto being the third wheel in their little friend cart.

"Hey, you're rich. Stop being so cheap!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger at the boy, who bristled angrily on the branch he sat atop on. Naruto knew very well what was coming in a few moments though, and he absolutely loved that part.

"I'm not rich…!" at Naruto's own narrowing of eyes, he grunted in defeat. "…my family is just a little well off. BUT YOU SHOULD DAMN WELL KNOW MY FATHER DOESN'T GIVE OUT MONEY EASILY!" he shouted back with a flushed red face at remembering the long lecture he had heard in the morning for spending his money carelessly when he had asked for an early allowance from his father a couple of hours back.

"I AM OUT TOO! I'LL GIVE IT BACK TO YOU ONCE WE GET BACK ON SOME MISSIONS!" his answer surprised Tsunade and everyone besides Sakumo who had already figured out as much a while ago. The Uchiha's pride didn't let him take any favors from anyone, he would rather pay it back so he knew this was most probably coming. too

It didn't mean he had to accept it though…

"DID I ASK YOU BACK FOR MONEY?!" he shouted back, and sparks were beginning to rise in between their glares.

"THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE WE FIGHTING AND SHOUTING FOR?!" Naruto shouted back, Sakumo bristling even more angrily for reasons that resisted every intelligent cell in his body. So he answered back as intelligently as he could.

"HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW?!" both boys panted a bit in exertion from their shouting contest, the tired silence being broken by the sound of melodic giggles coming from beside Jiraiya.

"You two are such big dorks !" Tsunade laughed hilariously, clutching her sides while bending forward when it started to hurt a little. Both Naruto and Sakumo stared at her blankly for a few moments, before smiles started breaking on their faces and they laughed themselves with the rest following a few moments later.

"Oi! Saku no baka, save some dumplings for me too!" the silver haired genin's eye ticked angrily hearing that stupid nickname which hadn't left his side since his childhood days - and didn't look like it would be becoming unfaithful anytime soon…

Tsunade ran up the tree, hopping off a couple of branches to speed up her quest and hopped down by his side swiftly. She expertly slicked off three skewers from his bag when he tried to shy it away from her.

"Hey those are mine!" his voice was horrified seeing his own empty bag, while he himself had only one! And he had been the one to pay for those damn things in the first place!

Tsunade frowned for a moment, pouting cutely she relented and handed him a skewer back before munching on a dumpling happily.

Sakumo though continued on looking at her pleadingly for a little more mercy, he was quite hungry too…

"I'm not giving any more back…" she mumbled pointedly in between a bite upon seeing his expectant gaze who was expecting a little more mercy from said girl. Rivers of tears ran down his eyes at being devoid of food he himself had bought for them!

And instantly fixed the situation by snatching the last one of the four Duy had taken who looked on wide eyed at his friend.

"Sakumo such unyouthfulness!" the boy gasped out loud, while Sakumo wondered if this was such a good idea. But when the dumpling melted in his mouth…

Well needless to say, it was worth it…

"Shinobi don't play fair Duy. That's shinobi tactics 101." he spoke after gulping down a treat and sweat dropped when Duy took out a notebook from his pocket and started taking notes with vigorous nods.

"Yosh! Excellent advice…" Sakumo smiled, he was so easy to…"…but it's still unyouthful." Duy finished and Sakumo crushed his thoughts preemptively, he had spoken to soon…

"Come on you two, get to it. I wanna see you fight!" Tsunade broke everyone's reverie and both competitors turned serious hearing that.

"Go Naru! You can do it!" cheered on the lone girl in the field, not noticing the strange glance Jiraiya threw at her before himself cheering on the boy happily.

"I really do have some faithful teammates…" Orochimaru muttered under his breath upon hearing his own teammates cheering _against_ him. It was one thing to say it to him, but to cheer on his enemy out loud with no respect of his own feelings…

Even he wouldn't do that…well…maybe he would. But that was just because…

…

…

…

He was…well him.

"Alright! I'll be the referee. You two start when this falls to the ground 'kay?" Tsunade shouted out while waving an empty skewer in her hands. Both boys in the middle nodded, clearly relieved at having a better referee who wasn't biased in the least…

Tsunade held it out in front of her, looking on at the two with a smile. She did let her eyes linger on at Naruto for a moment too long, who gave her a little smile of reassurance when she let the stick in her fingers slip through.

Orochimaru looked on at the falling stick with narrowed eyes, his slitted yellow eyes looking forward to seeing it hit the ground any second now. Naruto did the same with his own azure eyes, both glancing at each other for a split second before looking back at the falling stick in full attention - it seemed like an eternity too long for both genin.

As soon as the stick hit the ground, Naruto's eyes bled crimson while he was off in a blur - leaving a wake of dust behind him. Orochimaru had already expected him to make the first move, after hearing from Tsunade countless times how offensive her best friend was when it came to combat.

Though he was still shocked to say the least when Naruto was onto his back in almost no time, high up in the air. The blonde pivoted himself in a horizontal circular arc while letting his heel go for the back of Orochimaru's head.

Just like the blonde had expected though, Orochimaru ducked…

But the point being, Naruto had already expected it…

The Uchiha curled up into a ball, still in mid air, he rotated his body like a wheel going forward and let his left leg out so that his opponent had no chance whatsoever of dodging or even expecting it.

Each of the spectator's cringed when a sickening crunch rang in the silent midst of the nature surrounding them. As soon as Naruto's left heel made contact with Orochimaru's back, the snake eyed boy gasped. His eyes turning wide while he was crushed straight onto the ground, face first, with a slam that - with the brute force that Naruto had conjured up thanks to his aerial maneuver, was a really loud one.

"Whoa…!" Jiraiya murmured in awe. He had never even thought such a flexible maneuver possible to be performed in such a split second be possible, but here he was witnessing it first hand.

He was sure his eyes and mind would be spinning after that alone had he been the one performing it. But he was left flabbergasted when Naruto started back flipping away from Orochimaru's prone form in complete and total control. The blonde stopped in a slight skid, on his knees he looked up at Orochimaru still in complete control of is senses.

'Orochimaru' as Naruto had expected from the strange sensation that he had felt as soon as his heel had made contact - dissolved into a pile of mud.

"That was a great substitution…" Naruto praised his opponent out loud, it truly was remarkable he had the presence of mind to substitute. So as to evade any surprising follow ups from his vulnerable blind spot even if he hadn't expected one such as this in the first place.

His caution had saved him from an ending blow only a minute into the spar…

" _He's good…"_ he thought inwardly, standing up and dusting his palms off the dirt while looking around the empty clearing cautiously.

He had wanted to get this over with quickly, but another part of him wanted it to last longer. The inner part of his that craved for the thrill of combat…

The ground underneath him started becoming soft, alarms went off in his mind and he jumped up - for which he was glad for a moment later. The whole ground underneath where he had been standing a few moments prior, turned into a small river of mud - one that would have immobilized him and would do so a moment later if he didn't do anything soon.

Quick as a wink, his hands blurred through lightning fast hand seals that were too hard for anyone to follow. His index finger and thumb curled up in front of his lips for the jutsu, that quite frankly had become almost instinctual to him.

" **Fire Style : Grand Fireball Jutsu** **!** **"** he exclaimed. Breathing in a huge amount of air, he blew out a huge ball of inferno to scorch all the mud underneath his feet.

The flames hit the swamp dead on target. The mud, letting out a hiss of steam, hardened down the ground almost instantaneously. On top of which, Naruto landed a second later and instantly was on guard seeing all the steam now covering him.

"I guess they forgot about the no ninjutsu part…" Duy pointed out, Sakumo bobbed his head up and down in agreement with his teammate's words. But it was just like Naruto to not even care for rules. He had seen that small smirk of pure joy on his face right before that opening fire jutsu came from the Uchiha.

The boy was enjoying it to the fullest and couldn't care less about rules right now he mused, though couldn't help the smile that broke on his lips within himself. The two boys on the branch looked by their side only to see Tsunade looking on with narrowed eyes into the steam to see any signs of the fight. And both smiled seeing her far too engrossed in spectating to care about the world around her right now.

They were of the same mind as her a moment later…

Naruto's ears picked up on the small buzzing sound by his left, while his eyes caught onto the subtle shift in steam from said direction and plucked his hands into his leg holster almost involuntarily off his instincts.

Throwing out some deadly metal stars with an expertly executed flick of his wrists that would have made any shinobi proud. His shuriken met the incoming ones with accuracy that wasn't humanly possible in this hindsight to most shinobi many years his senior.

But he wasn't an Uchiha for nothing…

Though, much to his surprise - he didn't hear any metallic clangs as he should have. That did confuse him quite a bit as his aim was as immaculate as they came, so he had aimed his shurikens with the utmost perfection. Then how the hell…

His Sharingan did catch onto the slight glowing objects heading straight for him, the glow wasn't perfectly blue which meant…

" _Shit_ _!_ _"_ only by a hair's margin did he dodge the shuriken's heading straight for his right arm. Even after dodging it completely - and he was damn sure he had dodged it cleanly. His right bicep received a deep slash.

" _This damn steam is annoying me now_ _!_ _"_ the Uchiha glowered inwardly, his opponent wasn't the only one who knew **Wind Release** …

His hands clasped themselves in the Bird seal. Letting his chakra coat him, he let it burst out a moment later after mixing it with said element to make a huge gust of wind go off all around him. Nothing much, not that he needed as much right now.

But it did blow away the steam surrounding them completely…

Naruto looked on in front of him, clutching his right bicep that bled profusely and stained his right sleeve scarlet as tightly as he could. Only to see Orochimaru smirking ever so slightly in triumph.

The boy had after all landed the first blow…

"Should we stop now?" Orochimaru asked, his voice containing more of a taunt than worry and Naruto's crimson eyes narrowed in on him dangerously.

Was he mocking him?

…

…

…

Him?!

The tomoes in his crimson eyes spun at dazzling speeds, almost blurring out of existence into a black circle. His Sharingan shone bloody crimson even more brightly than before. Almost in a predatory manner when he fed it the required potent chakra he had been accumulating for a while now, concentrating it all behind the largely developed chakra coils right behind the retina of his eyes.

"Oh boy…" Duy whispered, already knowing what was coming. "…he shouldn't have taunted him…" Sakumo murmured in continuation of his words, and started concentrating on his dumpling instead of the fight.

Jiraiya though looked up quite confused seeing their disinterested faces.

It was almost as if they believed it was…

"It's over." Tsunade finished his musings out loud, hopping down from her branch to stand by his side. Jiraiya looked on at her with a look that screamed 'stupid', not that she paid any attention to him.

Jiraiya saw her looking intently at Naruto's back. More specifically his bleeding arm that the Uchiha had clutched with his other palm, to reduce the blood loss as much as he could and Jiraiya couldn't quite understand what was going on after this point in the spar.

He did see Orochimaru's eyes going wide and Jiraiya grew even more confused when Orochimaru started swatting away his hands all around him, at nothing in particular.

"Oi! Orochi, what hell are you hitting at?" Jiraiya asked the mentally retarded looking boy, who continued on his stupid looking act of flatting away something they couldn't quite see but he certainly could. A few seconds later, Jiraiya saw his eyes become glazed before he was falling down sideways like a fallen sack of potatoes.

As soon as he hit the ground, Duy had caught him in a flash of green to avoid his face hitting the ground while Tsunade ran to Naruto's side hurriedly. The Uchiha in question let out a tired sigh and shook his head, it had taken quite a toll on him. He could already feel the splitting headache striking in, genjutsu could be such a pain...

He opened his eyes in a snap, feeling two palms covering his temples when he felt a soothing feeling wash all over him. His vision focused in, only to gaze into the ever worried golden orbs he had seen quite a few times now in his life now.

It was a worried Tsunade…

"What did you show him?" she asked softly, letting a little of her chakra into his head to sooth his chronic headache.

"Nothing too much, just some butterflies that showered him their poisonous sleeping pores to knock him unconscious…" he muttered, each word causing him to wince with a splitting pulse in his head.

Tsunade massaged his temples in soothing circles, letting her medical chakra doing it's work to sooth his pain and smiled softly seeing him enjoying it quite a bit with a content smile flashing over his lips.

It must have been that B-ranked one he had been tinkering with over the past month, she mused silently and dropped her technique. He could have made it a lot painful though, she knew that much - just a little tinkering here and there and she knew those butterflies could have been anything else.

Anything painful…

She giggled though, seeing his annoyed frown at feeling that amazing relief not being there anymore when she let her medical chakra drop from her palms.

"I have to take care that too you reckless idiot." she scolded him sternly,while swatting his palm away from the bleeding wound. The boy shrunk down slightly seeing her angry face, and didn't say anything more so as to not aggravate her any more than he already might have. And let her work her magic on it...

"What the hell happened to him?" Jiraiya finally asked, seeing Sakumo putting two fingers on the slumped boy's forehead while holding a half ram seal with his free hand to jolt the boy awake with a small pulse of his own chakra.

"I put him under a genjutsu to knock him out…" Naruto spoke with a wince when Tsunade put some drops of an orange liquid on his wound, before tucking back the glass vial in her hip pouch and putting some cotton over the disinfected gash.

She applied some pressure onto it to make the bleeding halt forcefully, and took out a roll of bandage before wrapping it all around his arm in tight circles. Purposefully tightening it each time to see him cringe in pain.

"Kuso! Be gentle!" he almost hissed in pain upon feeling her making the bandage almost painfully tight. She smiled a little before turning it into a lopsided frown.

"Stop being such a baby. If you don't want to feel this, then don't get hurt so stupidly in the first place. It was just a spar, there was no need for you two to get so damn serious!" she chortled him down furiously, putting the final knot down on the bandage and cheekily smiled seeing him nod in defeat.

He really had gotten carried away, but still he had ended it quickly too he mused…

That would teach him to be reckless like that in suh a simple spar, she mused…

"But you didn't make any hand seals…" Tsunade blinked upon hearing that. Turning around to see Jiraiya's thoughtful face, she decided to answer his queries and put them to rest.

"He doesn't need to…" was her simple answer. But seeing the pervert blink obliviously, she decided to elaborate on her point. "…he's a Sharingan user. He doesn't need to make any hand seals for genjutsu, or even a medium to induce it into his opponent. He can do it with eye contact alone. It was over the moment Orochi looked him in the eye." she explained with a sagely nod, feeling quite intelligent all of a sudden.

"Stop giving away my secrets…" Naruto muttered, feigning annoyance and quite enjoyed the irritated look that flashed in her eyes.

"He already knows! Sarutobi-sensei already explained that to us months ago. The baka just forgot!" she retorted hotly, her cheeks flushed red in anger and not seeing Jiraiya's sheepish face at remembering the truth behind her words.

His sensei had indeed told them never to look an Uchiha possessing the Sharingan in the eye if they were to engage him in battle. Looks like Orochimaru had forgotten it too, and the thought made him grin like an idiot at finding some information to embarrass the hell out of that stuck up bastard.

"Come on, Mito Baa-chan asked me to get you for lunch at her place." Tsunade's soft voice broke the two out of their reverie. And Jiraiya looked on seeing Naruto nod in slight jealousy. She had never invited him over to her house in all the months she had known him, though he had made himself be known there on his own… but that wasn't the point.

The point was - his crush had never even invited him over to her place…

A moment later he was crouching down behind them with his back turned to them, and drew circles in the ground - a dark cloud looming over his head.

"Yeah, let's go…" he heard Naruto say, even he had forgotten about him…he thought, all the while crying anime tears. "…oh wait a moment! I almost forgot…" Tsunade blinked obliviously at Naruto's sudden exclamation who turned back to Jiraiya with a smile.

"Jiraiya…" said boy perking up hearing his name, and snapped his neck back happily. He was already sooo accepting the invitation…

"I'm coming…" though what he didn't expect Naruto to be right in front of him. In mid air to be more specific, while pivoting his heel down towards his face in a horizontal arc like he had done for Orochimaru.

Though unlike Orochimaru, Jiraiya wasn't aware enough to dodge…

And it made contact…, with a sickening crunch while the white haired boy was launched to the side in a small dust heap. He could see stars in his head and most probably had a swollen jaw…if he was lucky that is… if he wasn't so lucky it was most likely a dislocated one - which it felt like it was…

What the hell had he done to deserve that? He was completely innocent…

"Don't peep on Tsunade again."

Scratch that, he had deserved that one.

Tsunade though had turned slightly pink hearing that and quickly made her way near Naruto's back. She fisted the back of his shirt in her palms and leaned her lips close to his ear out of pure embarrassment. He was such an idiot…

"You didn't have to do that." was her soft whisper, it was so embarrassing. If her grandmother got so much as a hint of this…

Oh kami, she shuddered to think of the endless teasing she would be open to.

"I know, but I wanted to do that." was his simple reply before he was walking out the field and towards the Uzumaki clan compounds in his usual lazy stride. As if nothing had occurred in the first place.

Tsunade kneeled down in front of the painfully moaning boy on the ground. As much of a pervert he was, she still pitied him. That looked like it had hurt…

Her hands clasped his cheeks in her palms, letting her medical chakra to do what she could for momentarily soothing his pain. A small gasp escaped her lips realizing it was dislocated and she shook the dizzy boy roughly to snap him awake.

"Come on, you can come to Baa-chan's house. We'll have some lunch and she'll heal you too." she muttered worriedly, turning quite confused when she saw a flash of horror on his face as if he had just seen a ghost.

Was she really so frightening…?

Jiraiya's train of thoughts were a lot different than hers. If the ever calm, lazy and peaceful Uchiha had reacted that way for his actions that were committed the previous morning… then the stern, strict and stuck up woman he had met earlier - the same one who quite enjoyed pulling and twisting his ear - if she were to become aware of his exploits…

He gulped thickly and shuddered. Just imagining what an overprotective grandmother would do to him scared him completely out of his wits and he shook his head violently - which as much as it hurt, would be nothing compared to what he would have to endure if _she_ got her hands on him…

"I'll pass…" his words and voice were strangely muffled, courtesy of his aching jaw and Tsunade blinked innocently. She was about to retort in negative when Jiraiya nudged her back gently to make her get on her way.

"You go on, I'll go to the hospital with Orochimaru…" he got out with a cringe in his same slurry voice, baffling the girl even further. But she knew better than to push on someone's boundaries when she knew she was being sent away, so she simply nodded her affirmative.

"Alright, but you go to the hospital quickly 'kay?" she asked him in a worried voice, one that warmed his heart that she cared. He bobbed his head up and down happily.

Not all was bad at least, he recited and almost danced inwardly…

Jiraiya watched on longingly as the girl ran back with a slight hop to her feet to fall back at Naruto's side who was walking slowly so she could catch up to him. And both started a hushed whispering conversation with each other that he couldn't quite hear. Though, her ever soft giggles made his heart flutter and he was content on watching her chirpy face until she was out of his eyesight and looked back at a now awake Orochimaru with a pained smile. Letting his feet make his way to the snake eyed boy, he decided to let him be his escort so he could fill in those Kami annoying forms at the hospital that irritated him to no ends…

Though he was a bit confused at Orochimaru's own eyes containing a glint he hadn't seen ever before in those amber eyes in all the time he had known him for.

 _A look of longing and pure curiosity…_

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : There is the next installment in the series. I know the pace has slowed down considerably in the past couple of chapters so I'll pick the pace up with the next ones. New missions next time for both the teams, that is all I'll say so as to not ruin any suspense.**_

 _ **But I do hope you all enjoyed it**_ _ **!**_

 _ **Let's see how the village functions without Tobirama in charge. Naruto's journey outside the village will start with next one being it's first crucial step and let you all see how his character truly is when exposed fully. As you've all seen, I've made the characters quite complex, with them having several sides at several occasions be it emotionally or logically so as to not have them turn bland which was the main point of annoyance for me when I read fanfictions.**_

 _ **I didn't quite go too much into the fight too, so it didn't turn a lot serious though did try to show how skilled actually Naruto is without letting him show all his cards…more like any of his hidden ones.**_

 _ **Sakumo and Duy too will go through a character development in the next couple of missions, and as for those who are wondering how the story shall pan out, I'll divulge a bit. There will be a few missions (two or three at most) up next before I'll take a time skip when the story will delve into the meat of the war, that is when the action and romance will truly take off. For these are actually just development chapters to build up the hype before the storm comes (I'm evil aren't I? Kukuku…) since this AU is so new and changed it does need it's time to make it a lot more relatable IMO.**_

 _ **I'll divulge a bit more in the coming chapters so do read the A/N too alright, and don't get too lazy regarding these. I write them for a reason…**_

 _ **Anyways as always, my endeared readers…keep reading and reviewing because NSE is signing out**_ _ **!**_

 _ **Ja Ne ;)**_

* * *

 _ **PS : As for my other stories, I am almost halfway done with Remnants of the Past and will get back onto Desert Flower too when I get done with a couple more chapters of this. So make do with this one until then (It won't be too boring, I promise**_ _ **!**_ _ **)**_

 _ **Bieeee…..**_ _ **!**_


	14. Dire actions, Dire consequences

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Next Morning**

* * *

 **A few miles outside the village walls….**

* * *

"You know I think we weren't on our best behavior back there…"

Duy's murmur was the only voice that broke the serene and calm silence in the thick foliage surrounding and hiding the most revered of the Five Great Shinobi villages.

"Really?!" Sakumo's voice was lacing with sarcasm, almost dripping with it - something that their green spandex wearing teammate didn't quite pick up on - as was usual.

"Yeah, I mean back there we…" Sakumo sighed, hearing on about his 'youthful' teammate pointing out and rambling about the things he had remembered from a couple hours back in the morning.

Naruto decided to be the intelligent one, and smartly stayed out of Duy's way - lest he came under Duy's radar and became his primary point of focus.

Something, that he was quite glad to let his silver haired friend deal with.

Because, he for one, most definitely could not handle his over enthusiastic and 'youthful' friend as well as Sakumo could…

 _Or so he told himself…_

* * *

 _ **A few hours earlier…**_

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Hokage Tower**

* * *

 **Council Chambers…**

* * *

"Squad Six…!"

Everything from the most basic of tasks, to the most complex of political matters were being handled by the council right now - missions assignments included.

So, here we are…

Squad Six, with Hiruzen in the lead and his three genins following him in the huge council chambers to get their first dose of the outside world, in what had been a quiet down time for almost the whole village.

But quiet and silence could only last for so long - especially for a hidden village that is…

"Ah…" the unmistakable smile upon seeing the son of the highly respected Sarutobi clan head caused many faces to brighten up considerably. But what caused a complete change of hearts in the primarily dense environment were the genins stalking behind him - more specifically, the Senju heiress assigned to him this time.

Her little smile and complete return of life in her eyes was the primary source of relief in almost all of them. Even the ever stoic Hyuga couldn't help but smirk ever so slightly seeing their beloved princess back to her usual fervor, raring to go and take on some missions.

"Squad Six reporting for missions…" Hiruzen decided to get the formalities started upon seeing the eerie silence that had befallen the room upon their entry. It did achieve what he had wanted though, and it did serve to break them out of their stupors. "…yes, of course. But isn't it a bit too early to throw them out in the field Sarutobi-san?" the question did cause Hiruzen to blink, in a manner of complete and utter disbelief.

Well this was a first…

Though, it only took a moment for him to catch on to the slight nudge they all were pointing at behind him - to his lone kunoichi, to which he instantly downed their offer with a negative shake of his head.

It was Tsunade's mental health they were worried about he concluded.

"They are quite ready, the mission if you would please?" he asked curtly. His tone was such that it reminded them his patience were running thin. It was one thing to care about a certain shinobi or a _clan heir/heiress_ , but to outright show favoritism…

Tobirama would certainly have a field day with these buffoons if he so much as got a wind to this - be it his own grand niece or otherwise…

But that was a matter for another day, for today he wanted a mission.

"Of course-of course, just checking…" his statement was waved off dismissively by the council - as if it weren't even a valid thing to be annoyed about. That did cause his eyebrows to knit together in subtle irritation, but he remained calm - they were the council and in charge of almost everything - right now that is, he reminded himself.

"There…" the whole lot of Squad Six perked up hearing that.

Finally, each of them whispered in relief. "…a B-rank assignment. You will be assigned to escort our client to his home town - the Fire Capital. It should serve to be a suitable mission for this squad given the circumstances." Hiruzen's gruff eyebrow raised in a manner that showed his surprise.

He certainly did have the experience to gauge a mission such as this for what it truly was. Quite clearly in fact, if those non subtle hints in the council's voice were any indications.

It was supposedly a C-rank mission, only bumped up in rank due to their clients status - if his end destination was anything to go by…it certainly did seem that way in his mind for all the good reasons.

But he begrudgingly nodded in acceptance. If anything, it would serve to be a good comeback mission for his team after the vacation, a nice little mission to get them back into their gears.

So, all was well and good when he took the scroll from the assigning chunin and started making his way out of the chambers, his subordinates in tow.

"Squad Seven…!"

This shout made Tsunade, and much more surprisingly Hiruzen to almost skip a step. As far as he remembered, his father was still comatose in the hospital ward. And if memory served him right, squad seven was assigned to the downed man.

"Squad Seven reporting for missions…" it was Sakumo's voice that cut through the small lapse of silence surrounding the chambers. All the scribbling and whispering ceased as three silhouettes made their way into the middle.

"Your sensei?" the chunin asked, lacking any sort of warmth or interest he had shown mere moments ago for the previous squad. In fact, if one were to look closely - all the light hearted feeling had left the confines of the huge chambers.

The only feeling left was one of cold indifference, pointed specifically to the blonde haired azure eyed boy standing in the middle of the trio - whose usual lazy smirk plastered over his face spoke volumes of the interest he had in what they thought of him.

Which was practically nothing whatsoever…

"He's out of commission due to medical reasons, but we three are fine." Sakumo decided to be the one to do all the talking. Naruto was just too lazy when it came to these matters, and Duy was…

…

…

…

Well… he was Duy.

Let's just leave it at that…

The chunin at the front desk, clad right in front of the circular table hogged down by members of the shinobi council - all included, outright frowned.

Focusing a mild glare on the blonde, the chunin narrowed his eyes at the three inquisitively. All in an attempt to make himself seem a bit more intimidating, so as to daunt his authority over them.

It did anything but that...

Sakumo was completely indifferent to it, as was shown by his bored face. Duy was scribbling down something furiously in his notepad - 'something' so furiously, that made it seem his pencil was on the verge of igniting the thing into flames.

And Naruto…oh Naruto…

He was the most interesting and unpredictable of the bunch.

His reaction to their hostile intentions made each and every member, bar the members of Squad Six behind them, bristle in anger and pure contempt.

Each of them squirmed around, looking to tear apart a new one to the brat - the brat who actually had the gall to;

Yawn softly in front of them!

He looked the most bored out of them all, and quite frankly he was.

These glares and little snide remarks were almost completely immune to him now. It had been far too long, and they weren't quite inventive enough for him to pay heed to these stupid actions anymore.

He wasn't five anymore.

Not that they mattered anything to anyone anyways…

"The mission…?" Sakumo drawled out indifferently, bonking Duy when he whispered something into his ear. Something, that made said genin shiver from his friend's sudden and sneaky voice blowing in his ear.

"Of course." the chunin almost growled out, looking through the piles upon piles of scrolls building up - ones that had yet to be assigned to the numerous teams free for taking them.

" _Alright, anything for 'these' three genins without a jounin sensei…?"_ the chunin on the front desk rummaged in the scroll holder placed upon his desk. And his eyes stopped onto one particular scroll - one that made him stop instantly, almost abruptly upon it.

Every council member, too interested in this particular assignment - narrowed their own eyes at 'that' particular scroll which had gone through each and every one of their hands first for classification - and they all smirked in unison.

It was perfect…

Many nods were given to the assigning chunin, who had the decency to look at them for permission for permission. And he nodded back at them, before turning to the waiting team in front of him.

Quite surprisingly, in a sudden turn of emotions. He smiled warmly at the three.

"Squad Seven will be going for a C-rank assignment." Sakumo rose an eyebrow at the sudden change. Even Naruto's lone eye glancing at the chunin sideways had narrowed slightly at the strange occurrence.

It was just…odd. And it did cause an alarm bell to go off in their heads.

But letting bygones be bygones, Sakumo stepped ahead and took the scroll being held towards them before returning back by his team's side. All, looking ready to hear their instructions for their newest venture outside the village walls.

"You three shall be heading to Hayakawa village, and deliver that scroll to the elders of Fūma clan residing there…" Sakumo did interrupt him in between, something that made the chunin twitch at being interrupted in between. "…what is in the scroll?" was his simple question - all the while eyeing it warily.

"It has orders for a weapons consignment we need restocked. You shall deliver the order to them and carry back all that they have available at present, and order the rest to be made ready and delivered to us at a later date. Complete this as soon as possible, this mission is of the utmost importance to us and you three are the fastest genin team available at present." all three genins nodded, with Sakumo tucking the scroll in his pouch and turning around to leave as quickly as he could.

A hand clasped his shoulder - quite firmly in fact. Causing all three of the boys to stop mid stride and look at the source of said interruption.

It was Hiruzen.

A worried Hiruzen, one who was looking at the three a bit conflicted since that mission was anything but a C-rank in his mind.

Even if there weren't that many weapons for them to carry back, the chances of some shinobi intercepting them for either the details of that scroll…or even the weapons they would be carrying back - was unbelievably high.

He couldn't, in all his heart believe that those fools were stupid enough to assign such a mission to green genin - one whose sensei was presently out of commission for that matter.

"Is there something we can help you with Hiruzen-sensei?" Sakumo's question did break him out of his thoughts. He released said boy's shoulder and sighed, now what was he supposed to say to them?

So he recited the first thing that came to his mind…

"Be careful alright?" the three confident smirks he got in return did anything but elevate his fears even further than they already were.

He had never - and that did mean ever, had he seen _this_.

A mission of that caliber, being handed down to a team filled with anything less than chunins. It would have been laughable to the point of sounding ludicrous - had Tobirama been the one to assign it, that is.

So, it was only natural that he was worried about them. But there was nothing he could do for now, the mission had been assigned and accepted by the squad.

Protocol stated that any mission approved by the village if accepted by a team, could not be refused under any circumstance - else a temporary ban on the team's shinobi licenses. It would either be a success or a failure, never a change in plans.

Which meant…

They would have to do it now - be it any which way he convinced them, and there was nothing he could do about it…

"We'll be fine sensei, it's just a C-rank mission. How hard could it be, huh?" Sakumo asked confidently and got a loud 'Yosh' from Duy that made the blonde boy behind him chuckle and walk out happily, unaware of the still worried brown orbs stuck staring on their backs.

Hiruzen didn't say anything, more like he couldn't say anything - but he did glance back at the council with narrowed eyes. Something just wasn't sitting well within his gut - and for all that was good by the name of Kami…he prayed that nothing ill befell those three kids. Kids who were without any jounin supervision if they got themselves in something that was way above their heads.

"Sensei?" Jiraiya's slight tug on his sleeve made him blink, only to see Tsunade's worried wide orbs glancing back and forth between the squad that had just left and himself. Even Orochimaru was looking at him with those same calculating eyes of his - as if trying to figure out something akin to a puzzle in his mind.

"Let's go…" he finally rasped out, pushing it to the back of his mind for the time being.

" _I mean what's the worse that could happen?"_ he questioned himself. And instead of relieving himself off the weight settled on his heart, it increased to the point that it made him feel as if someone had placed a block of lead on his shoulders.

The council wouldn't put those three on a mission that was way out of their leagues - intentionally, now would they?

 _He had no idea how true his fears were going to be in the long run…_

* * *

 _ **Back with Squad Seven outside the village…**_

* * *

"Alright, let's speed up…" Sakumo ordered more than asked, and jumped up on a branch before darting forth into the trees at neck breaking speeds. Not even looking back to see if his friends were following or not - but they did.

Naruto and Duy following after him without a word of disagreement at blinding speeds.

All three started making their way due east, straight to the Hayakawa village - home of the master forgers, the Fūma clan.

* * *

 _ **At nearly sunset…**_

* * *

 _ **A mile outside the Hayakawa village…**_

* * *

"Guys, let's stop."

All three genins hopped down from the trees. All of them panting and looking a bit out of breath considering their continuous extremely high speed travel to arrive at their destination before sun had settled completely - something that they were just about to achieve by a hair's length.

"How…" Naruto took a deep breath, looking lot more winded than Duy. Which was only natural considering he wasn't used to the physical strains as much as his taijutsu specialist friend really was. "…far are we?" the blonde rasped out, palms on his knees and a droplet of sweat dripping down his chin. They had just traveled halfway through the Land of Fire in the heart of the eastern regions without so much as a second of rest.

Sakumo rolled out a map, glancing through the paper calculatingly and perked up with a little smile. "We are almost there, just a mile to the east and we are there." and his words elevated his friends spirits completely.

But the three did glance at him questionably, to ask a silent question as to how they would proceed when they did arrive at the intended destination - something Sakumo picked up on in an instant.

"We'll rest in the village for tonight, and complete the mission tomorrow morning. By my estimates, we can be done with it by tomorrow midnight : tops." he reassured the two and they all nodded with their strategic counterpart of the group of three.

They would be slowed down considering they would be loaded with more load on their way back. Due in part to all those weapons they would be hauling back to the village, so a little window increase was taken into consideration by Sakumo for that too.

All three of them decided to walk the last mile normally instead of rushing into the village. They, after all, did have to go for their tasks in the morning. So, it wasn't like they were in a rush or anything.

"Hey guys…" Duy's voice garnered their attentions. "…what's this Fūma clan like?" he asked simply, and got a smile from Sakumo - something that made Naruto shake his head in utter amusement.

The boy always did love explaining things to others it seemed - even if it was to Duy…

"The Fūma clan are primarily resided within the Hayakawa village, and are mostly a simple yet small shinobi clan. They don't particularly prefer combat or violence much, instead making their living primarily of their master craft of forging weapons…" he explained in a sagely voice. And Duy, like a little child…was hanging to his each and every word with innocent nods in between.

He did have a knack for learning things that might come in handy…things he had to skip out on the academy curriculum due to his personal reasons. "They do however specialize, and are particularly famous for their forging and skilled wielding of the Fūma shuriken. It is also known as the Demon Wind Shuriken in many lands. They are said to be masters at the craft, and specialize in any and all types of shurikenjutsu." Sakumo finished his explanation, and got yet another nod from Duy, who wasn't quite out of questions yet.

"Isn't that the same, big one Naruto used that one time?" he did remember a strange shuriken, the size of an abnormally large sword at each of it's four blades. And got an admirable nod from Sakumo - who was quite impressed at his friend's memory. And his ever present thirst for knowledge.

The bowl cut genin had no shame in admitting that he wasn't the brightest of the bunch. And he had particularly no hesitance in asking for something he wasn't aware of. His teammates were always happy to relieve him of his doubts and questions as best as they could - which gave them all something to talk about, almost all of the time.

As soon as all three came out from the trees to a small clearing, joyful smiles lit up Duy and Naruto's face - both looking ready to bolt into the visible village almost any second now.

The only thing stopping them was that Sakumo wasn't by their side now…

But instead had stopped abruptly and fallen a few steps behind them…

Sakumo stood at the edge of the trees, looking at the village with narrowed eyes - something that brushed Naruto in the wrong way.

The blonde himself let some chakra pour into the back his eyes, his azure eyes shining like rubies in the slightly dark environment and scanning the whole area critically - taking every little detail that he could.

Now he could see what was wrong with it - it was calm. A bit too calm in fact.

There was absolutely no movement whatsoever. In a village, that was supposedly presumed to house a whole damn clan in it, not counting the civilians that must be there too. Almost no lights were lit up right now, which meant that darkness had started taking over almost completely as the day shaded into night each passing moment.

But Sakumo had another sharp sense at work that alerted him of way more prudent information than his Sharingan wielding friend ever could hope to achieve in the current situation.

He had a keen sense of smell, developed through years of training. And it was picking up on a scent, a faint one that was littering the surrounding atmosphere almost completely…

It was too faint to be noticed by anyone not really looking out for something, but it was still, nonetheless there.

A faint scent that made almost every hair on his body stand up on alert.

 _A subtle smell of iron loomed over the surrounding air, clouding it in a menacing embrace within the darkness of the night…_

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile, a few hours prior…**_

* * *

 **Back with Squad Six…**

* * *

"Hmm…" Hiruzen's off-handed hum showed just how disinterested he was in the current situation.

"Who are we escorting? I bet it's some awesome princess or royal girl or…" the younger Sarutobi heard his hormone induced subordinate list out all the possibilities of who their client could possibly be - all guesses being females that is...

"Are those the people who we are assigned to sensei?" Orochimaru's pointed finger did manage to shut the excited boy by his side up, something Hiruzen was quite glad for.

Jiraiya could be such a handful, he sighed wearily…

"Whoa, she's…" as if trying to find the proper word, Jiraiya bit his tongue for a moment. He licked his lips, as if testing if the next word felt right or not. "…fat…" was all he could mutter before a fist bonked his head harshly.

"You idiot, she's not fat!" Tsunade glowered, looking as the Devil incarnate while looming over her perverted teammate like a hungry soul reaper.

"Then what the hell do you think that large bump on her belly is supposed to mean?!" he half growled, half shouted back at her. Tsunade glared right back, meeting his glare with one of her own fiery ones.

"She's pregnant you baka!" just like that, Jiraiya's next words died down within his throat. Now that he looked closely, she was quite slim with just her stomach bumping out…

But still…

"How would you know?" he asked suspiciously. Though he had to rub another lump when he was bonked yet again, on top of the first one. Courtesy of an irate kunoichi who looked as irritated as they came right now.

"Because I've read dozens of medical books and scrolls. And that is not counting how many times I've been to the hospital with Baa-chan." she fired hotly, the boy in front of her still not looking quite convinced.

So she decided to let him see a bit more reason - from her perspective.

"Plus, I'm a girl. We can tell stuff like that." she mumbled to convince him, though why she needed to do that was frankly above her.

But she did, that was all there was to it…

"Yeah right…" Jiraiya's snort actually made her snap her attention and her neck back to him with narrowed eyes. Orochimaru went on to stop their little bout, already knowing what his oblivious friend was going to let loose from his mouth next.

And to be honest, he wasn't quite fond of what followed after that.

But alas, he was too late this time…

"With how flat you are, it does make me suspicious of your gender…" even Hiruzen had the sense to slap his palm over his face when he saw Tsunade's face go almost beet red from pure fury.

"Why you thrice damned, perverted excuse of a life form!" she glowered down onto him while raising up her sleeves to teach him a lesson. Only for Hiruzen to stop her dead in her tracks before she let her wrath loose over the slightly cowering boy.

"We are in front of our clients now. Show some restraints you two…" the jounin in the group sighed tiredly when the two glared at each other and turned away in unison with a pointed huff - none too wise to notice the woman's amused smile on seeing the two's energetic argument come to an abrupt end due to her sudden presence.

"How long do you have?" Tsunade's ever curious voice made Jiraiya glance back with a lone half lidded eye to see her standing a bit away from him - something he was relieved about. The enthusiastic kunoichi was apparently talking to their 'client', who was rubbing her bumped belly with a fond smile while she prepared to answer the chirpy girl in front of her.

"I'm due in two weeks, that's why we are returning home." the white haired boy did seem genuinely curious seeing Tsunade's star struck eyes as if she had found Kami's gift to man.

He couldn't quite understand her excitement - or the source of it, that is.

The woman was pregnant, which meant she was fat.

What was there to be happy about? It was such a waste of beauty in his eyes…

"We?" once more, Hiruzen proudly smiled seeing his star pupil picking up on the slightest of details almost instantly.

The woman gave him another gentle smile, and this time Jiraiya took the time to gather what she looked like. Apart from that simple blue maternity gown she wore, the woman had shoulder length brown hair and matching brown eyes.

Nothing exotic, but a plain simple civilian woman that would have been quite the eye catcher had she not been pregnant that is… - at least to Jiraiya…

"Yes, my husband is waiting at the gates of the capital with a couple of our servants. We've hired some men to carry me in a small litter carriage, since I cannot walk too much given my condition…" Orochimaru nodded seeing her point and her condition. The fact that she was walking all by herself showed just how independent the woman must be… at least to the snake eyed boy that is.

"So, is it a boy or a girl?" Tsunade started asking questions upon questions in rapid fire, prompting quite a few laughs from the lady who was quite glad to answer the chirpy girl.

"What is she so happy about?" Jiraiya huffed, not quite understanding her excited demeanor in the slightest. A large palm covered the top of his head and ruffled his hair playfully.

"You really are naive Jiraiya, but you'll get it one day…" Hiruzen answered wisely following his words with a throaty laugh that leaked out involuntarily upon seeing his genin pout childishly with a slight puff of his cheeks.

Jiraiya hated when his sensei treated him like a child - this time being no different.

So, Squad Six began their journey onto the Fire Capital with a carefree mood surrounding them…

* * *

 **Back with Naruto, Sakumo and Duy…**

* * *

"Hey guys…" Duy's obliviously innocent remark broke the two stunned boys out of their stupors. "…what's the matter? We going or not?" Naruto was about to answer in a yes when Sakumo cut him off - before he could even open his lips.

"There's a heavy stench of blood coming from the village." that comment certainly did the trick.

Duy along with Naruto looked at him in shock, both opening and closing their mouths with nothing audible coming out of them.

"A-Are you sure?" Naruto was the first one to make a coherent sentence, with a slight stutter and Sakumo's nod did anything but to suppress his fears - when said genin bobbed his head up and down in affirmative.

"Yeah…" Sakumo's finger raised up in the air to get a feel for the air, and he nodded in confirmation - more so for himself, than for his teammates.

The air current was downwind, coming towards them from the village. It was the only proper reason why he had caught it even with his sharp sense of smell while being so far apart from the village.

"Come on…" both Naruto and Sakumo murmured in unison, though the green boy in the middle blinked seeing them walking in polar opposite directions - one towards the village and the other going away from it completely.

"Uh…guys?" Duy finally decided to stop them, and it certainly did the trick too. Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sakumo, when he watched Sakumo's expression of complete disbelief pointed straight at him.

"You can't be serious?" his voice was as incredulous as was his face, and seeing Naruto's firm stance he stomped down closer to him angrily.

Naruto didn't even so much as an eyelash when Sakumo's finger whizzed past his ear to point at the dark village over his back. "That village reeks of blood. There most probably was a massacre, or an invasion or Kami knows what?!" seeing Naruto staring at him blankly with his active Sharingan made him almost shake in fury.

And Kami be kind, he had half a mind to bitch slap his blonde friend senseless until he did regain that 'less' part back from wherever he had lost it.

"Naruto…" he finally growled out, it was almost stupid. No that wasn't it, it was downright suicidal. "…that village reeks of 'BLOOD'…you get me 'BLOOD'?" he quoted the word with his fingers to emphasize that point, but the blonde merely crossed his arms with a little nod to show he was listening. "…and the stench is still fresh, which means the people who must have done the deed are most probably in the village too." he reasoned with the thrice damned, whole heartedly stubborn Uchiha .

But that same damned pride of his would just not budge - not today, not ever.

Naruto slid Sakumo's palms that he was shaking his shoulders with, off of him. And started making his way to the village that was emitting a ominous aura of pure death from it.

"What the hell are you trying to prove?" Sakumo almost snarled, pulling back his arm harshly only to see Naruto's own stern eyes staring at him intently now.

"Let go." it was barely above a whisper, but Sakumo glanced down to see he had caught his collar in a burst of anger and let it free - albeit, a bit reluctantly.

"Naruto, why do you want to go?" Duy asked as calmly as he could, looking the most sensible and reasonable of the bunch right now.

As much as he trusted Sakumo's intellect and the boy's honed analytic abilities, he trusted Naruto's instincts a lot more.

Sakumo was always their mind, but Naruto was the heart of this team. And he had been in a couple of situations such as this before, where as reckless as the blonde was - his way always pulled through.

Though his sore body and injuries the next day were a different matter altogether…

And it was almost funny that in times like these, when his always calm teammates were angry, he was always the moderator and intelligent one.

Just like today.

"If there can be the people who caused the kills in there…" Sakumo's intensifying glare was completely ignored by Naruto who was staring straight at Duy right now. "…then there can also be people of the clan and their village. Survivors, people who might need our help…" his statement was once more interrupted, by the same boy who was getting even more restless by the minute.

The Uchiha was spouting off nonsense in his eyes right now.

"That is not our mission Naruto…" Sakumo hissed in a retort.

Had his friend truly lost it?

To walk in a den full of tigers - with no idea of how many lay in there, waiting for their chance to pounce on them with no mind of their own lives?

"It's the right thing to do. They're our allies, and they need our help." Naruto retorted flatly, and Duy palmed his face seeing the oncoming argument that he had hoped to diffuse, firing up once more in all it's glory.

"We are shinobi you idiot. Don't you remember what sensei told us back then during our first real mission? Alliances are just that, mere pieces of papers and words." he snarled and Naruto glared right back, matching his best friend's gaze with one of his own fiery ones.

"I think you don't remember his words clearly Sakumo. He also told us that an alliance truly only matters - 'when the allied nations believe in the peace they are trying so hard to show', remember now?" the blonde's retorting question made Sakumo quiver slightly, but for the life of him he couldn't retort back to that.

Sasuke _had said that_ , as loathe as he was to admit it.

But the context was completely different here. Twisted words of their teacher weren't enough to warrant the kind of actions he was willing to take.

And kami damn it…

"I'm not going to be a part of it…" Sakumo's words even shocked Duy.

The silver haired genin was absolutely serious. His face and voice alone showed it to them.

"Sakumo, what are you saying…?" Duy's innocent question was cut off by an irate Sakumo before he could finish it, raising a palm up to shut him up.

"Stay out of this Duy. He may be stupid enough to believe in these ideals of peace and put his life on the line, but I'm different." even Duy had to gulp at the stare off going on between two of the closest friends he had ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Sakumo's entire life, he had been trained and brought up by his family to be made into a shinobi inclined for a specific field of the shinobi arts.

Assassinations.

Yes, that was what his family had made a name for itself from.

From as far as he could remember, he had always been taught one thing - each day, every day by his father.

 _Never walk into a battle you do not know you can win._

 _For taking on an enemy who is far superior than you, is not your way of the shinobi._

It was a teaching his family, and he himself had lived by to this very day.

He wasn't going to change it tonight, not even for him.

"You walk down that path…" Sakumo's finger pointed to road leading to the village, still as silent and ominous as before and Duy just stood by dumbly - not even being able to believe this was happening.

They were falling apart. "…you go alone. Our mission was to deliver a scroll. A simple C-rank mission, and I'm not about to risk my life for something we weren't even assigned to do in the first place." with those words a few minutes of silence enveloped the clearing they stood within.

For Duy, he felt like hiding in some place and staying there forever.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

They were friends - and friends stuck together.

No matter what.

"You coming Duy?" were Naruto's only words to break the tense silence that had settled in between the three. And the hateful…no almost betrayed look that Sakumo gave him, had no effect whatsoever on the Uchiha - who stared at Duy expectantly for an answer.

And as shameful as Duy was to admit it - the ever energetic boy was feeling an emotion he didn't think he'd feel today - or anytime soon.

He felt scared.

Bowing his head down a little, Duy said nothing.

But Naruto got all the answers he was looking for, in but a moment.

Without another word, he started walking back to the village and felt a feeling he thought he'd long since forgotten.

He wanted to turn back and look at them, but he knew it would only serve to make his friends waver in the decision they had made for themselves. He wasn't so foolish as to do that to them for his own selfish reasons.

But for all that was holy - he couldn't shake off the feeling bubbling up from deep within his heart.

Clenching his fist over the left side of his shirt, the same spot where his heart was supposed to be - he let his inner turmoil over take him completely.

He didn't feel scared, it was just that…

 _He felt so alone._

* * *

 _ **With Sakumo and Duy…**_

* * *

Both boys stood beside each other, watching their friend's flailing white jacket blowing in the wind gently while he walked into the dreaded village as if nothing in the world could faze him.

"Sakumo…" Duy's whisper was ridden with guilt, but Sakumo was just staring at Naruto's silhouette - with nothing but an emotionless gaze.

He wasn't guilty - he wasn't, he told himself. That annoying Uchiha had a tendency to put his life on the line each and every damn time.

This wasn't the first time they had argued. Nor was it their most intense argument to date.

That had been one, he still regretted till this day. For that day, in the heat of the moment - he had said something that still made his heart twist in ways that made him lay restless at nights, eyes devoid of all sleep.

 _I have a family to return to Naruto, you don't. Not everyone wants to throw away their lives for such foolish reasons._

That was something he regretted to this very day.

His friend's reaction was just as he had expected, a little flash of pain in his eyes before it was hidden from the world while he simply walked away from him.

"Let him go Duy, we don't need to be there to bail him out each time he does something reckless. He's a shinobi now, let him deal with the consequences of his actions." Sakumo finished with a scoff. And even as dumb as Duy was, he could say he didn't mean those words to come out as harshly as they had.

 _If the clenched knuckles of his were any indication that is…_

"We'll wait till dawn for him to return, if he doesn't come back by then…"

No words were uttered any further between the two while they sat under a tree while Duy began starting to work on building up a small place for them to sit in.

And place some traps while he was at it…

Sakumo merely perched atop a branch while keeping his eyes peeled on the village that made his spine shiver each time he so much as thought of entering it…

* * *

 **Back with Squad Six…**

* * *

"How long till we get there sensei?"

Each and every adult surrounding the litter carriage carrying the pregnant lady for whom protection detail had been organized for - sighed - for the umpteenth time, in unison.

"Jiraiya, if I've told you once; I've told you a thousand times - asking the same question again and again will not get us there any quicker." Hiruzen scolded his genin. Though sighed wearily when said genin huffed and looked away with a pout.

It wasn't his fault that they were all so damn boring were a trace of Jiraiya's thoughts.

But the one thing bugging him to no end was…

"And why the hell does she get to ride in the carriage while we all walk?" this time though, Jiraiya's voice was filled with annoyance. And the head of his primary source of annoyance popped out from behind the carriage's curtain while sticking her tongue out at him.

"Because I'm not a pervert!" the laughs that comment from a certain blonde kunoichi caused Jiraiya to go red in the face.

More so from embarrassment than in anger.

"I'm not a-"

"You are. Don't try and deny it." the glare that Jiraiya leveled on Orochimaru - was downright murderous.

"You are my teammate and a guy for Kami's sake. Agree with me for once!" he half-yelled half-scolded and fumed silently when Orochimaru waved his hand at him as if he were shooing away a pest to make him look away from him and let the ever calm boy have his peace for the remainder of their trip.

"Alright-alright you two, be nice." Hiruzen's amused voice cut in straight through their banter. Though if one were to look closely, he himself was biting back a chuckle and failing miserably at it.

"And as for your question Jiraiya…" that did perk the genin up, who awaited for an answer as to why _he_ couldn't sit in the carriage while Tsunade could enjoy the free ride like a princess of some sorts. "…Tsunade is a girl." and Hiruzen continued before the fuming boy blew a gasket.

"Plus, she can help a lady best - seeing they do share the same _gender_ …" he couldn't quite continue on speaking in his amused voice anymore upon seeing Jiraiya miserably trying to come up with an answer.

But seeing him fail even more miserably, was downright hilarious and prompted another round of chuckles from the two carriage pickers, the two civilian guards guarding the woman inside and Hiruzen himself.

Though Hiruzen's sharp glance to his right for a moment, wasn't picked upon by anyone seeing he had taken his position at point - up front.

The jounin had no time to come up with a counter when a kunai flew in from his blind spot on the right, the only alert for him being the whizzing sound the weapon made and caused Hiruzen to jump up and away on instincts alone.

"WATCH OUT!"

His shout alerted everyone, the civilian guards drawing out katanas that may as well be considered a walk in the park by shinobi standards.

Orochimaru though, being placed on the right side in the back of the carriage's detail had caught onto the offending weapon in an instant.

Not even in the blink of an eye, his hands flew back into the sleeves of his kimono and drew out a handful of shurikens before launching them straight for the offending weapon heading for the carriage.

Three of his dozen of thrown shurikens made contact - to show off his practiced accuracy and deflected the kunai from it's trajectory to embed it safely into the ground underneath the carriage.

Orochimaru did let his eyes go wide when his ears picked up on a slight sizzling noise.

And sure enough - the kunai he had just deflected to the ground beneath the carriage, had a small slip of paper attached to it's ringed end.

And it was lit alight…

Thus, was the source of that sizzling noise…

"TSUNADE GET OUT OF THERE - NOW!" Orochimaru's shout elevated Hiruzen's worse fears for his kunoichi's life even more so than before.

But his heart calmed itself down when he saw a blonde and blue blur jump out of the other end of the carriage not even a second before it was blown to smithereens and the man breathed a sigh of relief.

That had been a bit too close for comfort…

Tsunade slid down the sightly grassy slop on the other side of the road, gracefully holding the pregnant woman in her arms to show off her physical prowess before hopping up gracefully on her feet at the down-slope of said hilly slide.

"Jiraiya, Orochimaru - " both boys gathered around behind their sensei in a moment hearing his voice turn strict. All the goofiness upon Jiraiya's face washed away as soon as the situation became intense.

"With me, let's go!" he barked out and launched himself into the trees from where those weapons had come from.

"HAI!" his genin chorused behind him, before darting into the trees peering over the other side of the road right behind their master.

"Hey what's wrong?" Tsunade's worried voice asked aloud when she felt the woman squirming around in her arms. Though her eyes widened when her left arm felt the fabric over her arm get a little…

Wet...

"I think my…AHH!" the Senju heiress almost dropped the woman when she suddenly screamed - but realization dawned on her when she remembered what it meant.

" _Her water broke_ _!_ " she almost screamed inwardly and ran as gently as she could to the nearby tree. She placed her underneath it as softly as gravity would allow her to do so.

"Hey don't you fall asleep on me!" Tsunade yelped softly, seeing her eyes rolling back slightly. And she shook her awake with a few soft taps to her cheek almost instantly - thankfully, it worked.

The one thing her grandmother had taught her in the medical field - her first lesson for that matter, was to never let a patient fall asleep before they had been treated completely.

They might never wake up after that…

Wait just a minute? Not fall asleep? Treatment? Patient?

Tsunade's eyes turned saucer wide - to the point her face started looking comical. But she took a hold of the woman's hand in her own upon seeing her try to squeeze her aching belly as tightly as she could.

Only one thought - a thought that made her almost quiver in fright - was on her mind right now…

 _I'll have to deliver the baby…_

* * *

 **Back in the Hayakawa village…**

* * *

"Hello!" Naruto's lone voice rang in the barren streets, his hands cupped over his mouth to echo his voice even further. There was nothing here as far as he could tell - and he had been scouting for almost an hour now.

"Anybody here?!" so finally, seeing all his normal methods of scouting failing, he decided to go back to the basics and start shouting to see if anyone really was here or not.

But the situation was rather…odd.

According to Sakumo, there was a huge stench of blood in the air. He had caught onto it too as soon as he had stepped foot here, so that assessment was in fact true.

Then where the hell was everybody?

There should be something or someone right?

Attackers, survivors…

Hell some dead bodies for crying out loud!

But there was absolutely nothing here. All the streets he had scouted in the dark had been barren, all houses he had peered in were empty. There was nothing here to show any signs of violence or break ins in the numerous shops he had scouted out.

So after all that, he had stopped hiding to see if maybe the invaders might be hiding and waiting for him to drop his guard.

But that had been half an hour ago….

So now here he was, in the middle of a village that looked more like it was abandoned rather than one that had been invaded…

" _Help…"_

Now that made him stop.

It was a soft whisper, and would have been ignored by him had it been any other day. And if he didn't have his ears as peeled as he had today.

The tomoes in his eyes spun slowly, taking in each and every inch of this damned village to see where it had come from.

To see, where had the sound come from to confirm that this had indeed been inhabited by humans before tonight.

" _Ff…Please…Someone…Anyone…"_

That soft sniffle, almost as loud as being inaudible - made his neck snap back with a crack. His eyes glanced up to read the board of 'Central Park' inscribed over the place from where it had originated from.

So, he made his way inside.

And smiled.

There was someone who needed his help just like he had expected.

And Sakumo's fears were completely unfounded. There were no enemies here as far as he could see. Plus, there was a survivor who needed him right now.

The sound of soft sniffles started getting louder and louder - turning into thick sobs as he made his way even deeper into the park.

The lights were even lesser in here than they were outside, some even flickering in and out of it. But as long as there was even a slight hint of it for his eyes to pick it up, he was fine.

Slickly, almost as smooth as an assassin his hands pulled out his sword strapped diagonally down his back. That horrid, godforsaken stench of human blood was increasing with each step he took near the incoming and helpless sounds.

The aura surrounding this place wasn't doing anything to lift his fears anytime soon…

But he made his way near to it. Completely on guard. And finally, he stopped when he saw what he had been looking for this whole time.

A person, most probably a girl, judging from her long hair - no scratch that, the slight bumps visible on her chest confirmed his deductions - was curled up into a tiny ball by the bark of a tree.

Her knees hugged to her chest in a tight squeeze, he could see her body clearly quivering even in the death of the night - which, from what he could guess - was due to crying.

"Hey…" he whispered out loud, clenching the hilt of his sword tightly when he saw her quivering halt all of a sudden while her eyes peeked out from her knees.

He couldn't tell what color her eyes or hair were, he would need more light to gauge that. But she had long hair, probably as long as his Baa-chan's which was a length near her hips.

Her eyes were wide, almost innocently in fact.

And he did relax his guard a bit seeing her wide eyes shimmering and streaming with tears that gleamed in the little moonlight they were privy to. They were looking so innocent that he just couldn't gauge her as he would have done for some stranger - any other day.

His Sharingan though - snapped to life. Blazing almost angrily when she got on her feet and rushed closer to him. His sword raised itself in the air, intent on slashing her neck as precisely as he could to cleave her head off - when his eyes caught sight of her arms opening in front of her.

But there was no weapon in her hands, and for some reason he could feel she was harmless. Maybe due to the way she looked - she had the same eyes as Tsunade had a couple of days back - that he let her come closer and closer to him. Before the girl, no more than sixteen or seventeen crashed into him and…

…hugged him for dear life.

He hesitantly let his arms wrap themselves around her, not quite understanding what had caused such a frightened girl to find such comfort in a complete stranger when she had just seen so much blood.

Speaking of blood though…

The source of the stench was now clear. It was her. The girl was dripping wet in it, from head to toe and he couldn't imagine what had caused her to get drenched, this deep in the elixir of life.

"You're from the Leaf…" her whisper ceased all his doubts in an instant as to why she had trusted him so much.

So that was why she trusted him…

…he was an ally.

Her way of running had told him that she was no kunoichi. No shinobi - experienced or otherwise, would stumble upon a rock and almost fall down like she had done. Even in as dire lighting conditions as they were in, they just wouldn't - it wasn't right.

And one couldn't fake crying as much as they tried it - not from his eyes they could not.

So he softly wrapped the girl in a warm embrace.

"It's alright."

His soft whisper caused her crying to go absolutely berserk. She started crying hysterically, as if she had almost gone insane. But anyone would in his opinion, if they were shown what she must have seen to get drenched in a bucket load of blood.

His hands caressed her long and soft hair, letting her bury her face in his neck - he smiled sadly. Why did it always have to happen to all of the most innocent one like his adorable Tsuna…

But when her arms gave his torso a gentle squeeze…

Every sense - every damn instinct built into his body screamed one thing.

Danger.

 _CLACK…_

Numerous shards of wood snaked around the air, bringing the serene and ominous silence in the clearing to an abrupt halt.

A shattered log fell down from the girl's arms - the girl, who was crying a minute ago flipped her waist length hair back with an expert whip of her head.

"My my, aren't we the feisty ones…" her whisper rang out loud, no sniffles or sobs coupling her voice as they had done a second ago. She looked anything but the girl he had seen from a minute ago.

"Who the hell are you!" Naruto asked, his voice as icy as the coldest of glaciers. Perching upon a tree like a hawk looking to scout out it's prey, his deadly eyes glared down into her very soul.

Her voice too wasn't helpless, it was almost…happy?!

Her tear stricken face was now lit up with a warm smile, as if she were a five-year-old. A little child whose dropped candy had just been replaced.

A five-year-old drenched head to toe in blood that is…

The way she licked her lips would have been missed by anyone but him in this dark of an environment. It was almost insane, twisted.

She chewed on her lip softly, eyeing him in all the conjured up interest of the world.

If not for his perfectly timed substitution, instead of that unfortunate log - he would have been the one to have been staked by a couple dozen of chains at all of his vital organs.

Chains that had sprouted out from the ground from Kami knows where, and when the hell had she created it?! Was the question he was asking himself again and again.

"Who killed the people in the village?" his question was simple, only an attempt to buy some time to gauge out his surroundings. The question had almost gone unheard by the girl in front of him.

Almost.

"A monster."

Her simple answer, said so simply that he might have believed it to be joke had she not been looking so innocent right now.

Innocently deadly…

Those words made him stop all his scouting, and glare down at her murderously.

"You-" he hissed, everything falling into place now. Her dripping chains, her blood covered body and clothes and her almost crazy demeanor.

It made his blood boil to the limits upon imagining just how many lives she had taken to get herself into the condition she was in right now.

His glare, intensified by his signature eyes would have made any normal shinobi nervous for even a sliver of a second.

But she was no normal shinobi, or person for that matter.

"Don't look at me like that please…" the way she flicked her head to the side, looking down a little - as if she were turning a bit shy from his stare all the while rubbing her naked arm off the cold with her left palm.

She was wearing a simple sleeveless frock coming to her knees, with no footwear whatsoever on her feet.

So, it was only natural.

But that probably meant she had shinobi training. Since there wasn't so much as a scratch on her flawless legs that she was rubbing together : a bit nervously to be precise or was it something else entirely?!.

"And who is the monster?" he asked in a voice that sounded a lot more intimidating and cold as compared to the one he had used a moment ago. Twisting his blade to let a little of the moonlight blind her eyes and conjuring up some chakra in his legs to get ready for what was to come. He looked ready to go in for the kill while his hair shadowed his eyes to make sure his eyes gave away nothing or so much as a hint to his next move as ws taught to him by Tobirama himself.

And it made quite an intimidating sight to behold. While his form was accentuated in the dark with a small flicker of the nearby streetlamp being the only main source of light in the clearing…

It certainly would have done his mentor proud of his pupil had he seen how he was handling himself in a situation he had no idea what was about to come.

And as stupid as his question was - since he already knew the answer. He had asked it to make sure he was right before he got started on dishing out what he had in store for her.

And with a little shy glance from the innocent girl, the answer to his question came.

"Me."

 _And just with that small whisper, all hell broke loose…_

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : Well, for the life of me I couldn't think of a better way to build up this chapter and end it so that you all will be forced to come back the next time and almost beg me for an update (kukuku).**_

 _ **So who is the girl? How should I know? Hahaha…**_

 _ **Well, wait for next time because I'm not giving away anything else. But hope you did like the contrasting light and dark themes flicking in between the squad's perspectives.**_

 _ **That is all I'll say for now. So until next time, keep reading and reviewing as always…oh before I forget**_ _ **!**_ _ **Do review because I want to get it across 1k this time alright? And put in all you felt for this chapter not just because you needed to 'kay?**_

 _ **NSE signing out.**_

 _ **Ja Ne ;)**_

* * *

 _ **PS : Look forward to an update to desert flower in the coming week too…**_


	15. Arduous Escape

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Konoha hospital**

* * *

"How are you doing today?"

"As fine a man in my condition, I suppose…."

The sarcastic, almost dry remark to the warm and caring voice was quite the opposite, instead inclining to cold and indifferent when compared.

And it did earn said bearer of the remark a bonk over his head…

"Is that any way to talk to a person?"

"Is that any way to treat your injured Kage?"

The banter caused the two involved parties to glare at each other. Crossing her arms underneath her moderate bosoms, Mito narrowed her eyes at Tobirama - prompting him to return the favor in full heft which led to the same result as to their previous bout…

He was bonked on his head…

Again.

It annoyed him to no end - not like he could do anything about it other than rub his sore head as best as he could, while Mito started jotting down something over her clipboard. It seemed pretty important, and if the past few days were any indications…

It would make his life even more miserable.

Let the world be known, Tobirama Senju hated hospitals.

But he absolutely despised any that housed any of his relatives. In the past, it was his annoying brother. Now his wife had taken up the mantle of said job to make his life even worse.

"I'm fine now." it didn't seem his grumble reached the Uzumaki woman's ears. And if it did, she had done quite an impressive job to conceal it.

He sighed in defeat.

How longer would he be scooped up in a hospital with just four walls and a beeping machine…

Did he mention how annoying that 'beep' was to humans after prolonged exposure?

Well if he hadn't, he was mentioning it now.

"Let me be the judge of that." her regal voice made it clear he was audible to her, so neither was he dumb nor was she deaf…

"Then may I be so inclined as to leave?" as polite as an emotionless man like him could be, he had tried his best with that.

"No."

Curse that stubborn woman.

"Why?" his eye twitched seeing her jot down yet another remark on her clipboard, and did he mention her smile was getting wider by the second?

She was probably enjoying preparing his 'meals'. If that filth they served here could be called edible enough to be referred to as food that is. Now, do remember, Tobirama Senju didn't complain for such trivial matters.

No, he was quite a patient man.

So much so, his patience were a testament to his title in some nations.

But that food wasn't even fit for tortured prisoners.

The first thing he was doing as soon as he got out…

Dispose off the chefs that were degrading patient's life with no evidence, replace them with some who could create actual 'food' - and ban Mito from ever treating him.

He put that last point on top of all priorities…

Hell, death was now seeming better to him.

"Just because I feel like it." her nonchalant answer got a death glare from him.

She ignored it and tucked a free lock of hair behind her ear as gracefully as ever, finding it more amusing than the childishly acting man in front of her.

His final sigh did let her know he was defeated now.

As much as she found it childish to believe too, she felt quite proud of it.

At least the man was beatable, one way or the other.

And this was the most outgoing she had seen him ever since he was informed of Sasuke's comatose state.

She had been mindful enough to have Sasuke be moved into a separate room, so as to take Tobirama's mind off the man and lessen his own self loathing by a few notches.

It had worked like a charm, though the headaches for security petitions to the council and the personal guards were a different matter altogether.

But she could be quite persuasive when she needed to be…

"Tsunade's on a mission…" in an attempt to make small talk, she spoke the first thing that came to mind. She had seen her granddaughter leave with Hiruzen and the squad a while back, but hadn't made any actual contact with them.

"I see." his voice was as indifferent as ever, and it made her eyebrow knit together in slight annoyance.

He could at least act like he cared.

A small huff and turning away of her head the other way while she took a seat upon his bed did enough to gain his attention. Tobirama knew in that moment, that if he didn't rectify this problem right here and now - he would pay for it later on.

She was his dietitian too after all…

"And Naruto?" he could only see a bit of her face since she was looking away, but her lips did twitch upwards ever so slightly seeing his interest in these matters pertaining to family.

So he knew he was safe, at least for now…

"He must be too, after all he did say he's going to take a mission today too…" her carefree shrug of shoulders did tell him that was all she knew.

So once more, silence reigned supreme in the room.

"I can't believe Naruto says the 'old man is fun to hang around'…" her annoyed statement coupled with a pout made him twitch ever so slightly.

"I'm not old -"

Her side-ward glance, a tad bit suspicious - spoke otherwise.

"And we do entertain ourselves quite well…" he could see it in her eyes that showed all the interest in the world. She too wanted to know what it was they did that so 'enjoyable'.

"We talk about things -" her slender eyebrow raised curiously, prompting him to go on and explain that a bit more.

"-sensible things." which was translated as serious shinobi stuff by Mito.

"And we play shogi…" that surprised her quite a bit. So they enjoyed playing games.

"He always loses - it's fun."

Mito sweat dropped hearing that.

But Mito did grow a bit worried seeing this time he didn't only fall silent, but his eyes had glazed over in a manner she knew quite too well.

He had delved quite deeply in thought.

She knew him well enough to know his small quirks by now. And she prayed it wasn't about Sasuke, he had just come out of that regret filled shell passing yesterday.

"Mito, can I ask you something?"

His sudden question had surprised her, he could see that by the slight widening of those violet orbs of hers.

Why - he did not know.

But he had.

And he decided to leave it at that seeing the small vertical bob of her head showing her affirmative of interest.

"At Misa and Roku's funeral -" her whole body stiffened.

Was he thinking about that?

Well it was only natural, he hadn't been able to attend it after all…

And now, Kami damn it, she was getting depressed too - just thinking about that all over again made her feel like crying her eyes out.

"Did Naruto cry?"

She blinked at him.

Then she blinked again seeing his expectant gaze still lingering on her.

But after a second, making sure she had heard him right- she conjured up all her intelligence to make up a coherent thought.

Opening her lips, she closed them wordlessly.

She was confused. So she tried again -

And as intelligently as possible got out a -

"Huh?"

The blank look he gave her, made her feel quite stupid.

Coughing away the slight pink dusting upon her cheeks, she decided to reminisce that day once more in the deep recesses of her mind.

"He did…" seeing him so intrigued made her heart warm, at least he was moving on and not clinging to the past anymore.

But what was it that had him intrigued so much in this to make him ask her this.

So suddenly, in fact.

She clearly hadn't expected it, it was completely out of the blue.

Nonetheless-

"Explain."

His voice was strict, and she could see he was in no mood for arguments.

The man wanted an answer, and he wanted it now.

Closing her eyes, she played those memories as she had seen it once more and recited it out of her lips.

"When I walked over to him, since he was standing in the back - tears were flowing down his eyes -" she couldn't quite complete it. Seeing Tobirama had deem it fit to interrupt her at that point.

"Were his shoulders shaking? Voice cracking? Sobbing? Sniffling? Anything else to show if he was crying-" she caught his shoulders after that.

The man's rapid fire questions were quite frankly scaring the wits out of her.

"Tobirama what's this, why are you-" once more her statement was cut off in between, though the manner in which it was done was different this time.

"Answer the damn question."

His voice was suddenly icy cold, and it sent shivers down her back.

Her eyes widened owlishly, she could see the sternness in his eyes.

The man meant business, and right now he wanted answers and nothing else.

She looked away with a flash of pain in her eyes, but hid it as soon as it had come to pass.

"No, I only saw him tearing up. Nothing else."

Her whisper made him release his vice grip on her shoulders. She rubbed the pain off them gently, he hadn't hurt her - not physically at least.

He said nothing, once more delving into a deep thought about nothing in particular - or so it seemed to her.

Seeing as he wasn't paying any attention to her, she silently got up to leave-

But her arm was caught in an iron grip once more.

"Sit." as emotionless as ever, he made her sit down - forcefully .

As gently as he could, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his side. Still maintaining a respectful distance in between, but close enough to make her feel a bit of comfort - well, as much as he could give to anyone.

"I apologize." just like that, Mito felt a contradiction.

For a moment, she felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. But at the same time, it felt as if it had increased several folds.

"It's alright." picking up on all her training over the years, she tried as hard as she could to maintain her composure and only whispered as much as was needed.

But knew she had failed when he wiped off the tears she didn't know she had been shedding off of her cheeks. He knew he wasn't the smartest of the bunch, but to think he had made the woman he saw as a companion, friend, a sister…

But even more so a mother who had always watched over him for many a decade - cry, while she clearly hadn't recovered from the grievances of her loss herself;

He felt as much pride as a squished cockroach in that moment, in being a man - but more so, for being the cause of such a reaction from her.

"I really am Mito -" his tone wasn't comforting, but he was trying his best seeing how he pulled her cheek to rest over his shoulder. "- now stop crying." in a commanding tone, he tried to comfort her.

She tearfully giggled at his pathetic attempt to console her.

He failed miserably from stopping the twitching corner of his lips hearing her laugh. And started rubbing her arm soothingly to at least do something that could be called emotionally right and not socially stunted.

But she felt a lot better now.

She didn't know why she had cried. There were so many reasons that she was sure his little harsh statement had only served as a trigger to open up her dams.

"Thank you." he stayed silent hearing her soft whisper followed by a sniffle.

Sometimes no words were better than all of the combined wisdom in the world, especially in his case when it came to these emotional matters.

"Why ask this so suddenly?" her sudden question broke the comfortable silence between them like a pin prick. And her curiosity grew a lot more feeling his shoulder stiffen ever so slightly underneath her cheek.

Whatever had Tobirama Senju riled up, must be something pretty damn important.

He thought about it for a moment, no scratch that, he didn't even need to think to answer this one.

He spoke the truth;

"I'd rather not say."

Hearing that, Mito let a long sigh snake past her lips. She felt so tired, and this hospital bed was quite a comfortable one indeed.

Emotional drain could be a tricky thing indeed.

She didn't quite feel like she had the energy to milk it out of him when he clearly didn't want to say anything.

Not like she knew what this was about in the first place.

But she did speak a few words before she let her eyes droop down.

"Tobirama, whatever it is you are hiding from me. I won't ask of you again - but it better not hurt any one of my children. If it does…" she let the sentence incomplete due to an involuntarily yawn that followed it.

The shaggy white haired man felt her breathing soften until she had curled up by his bedside and completely fallen asleep.

Letting his eyes linger outside the window towards the setting sun for a moment. He let the silence bring up those same visions from over a decade ago flood his brain. The same ones that had been plaguing his sleep every night, every day.

Ever since that dreadful night.

For all that was Kami, he just couldn't forget what _really_ had happened that night and how oblivious everyone was to the truth.

To this day, he didn't know if hiding everything - like he and Sasuke had done, was the right thing to do, or not. But he had made his choice as a Kage, and he had to live with it now.

But still - it did nothing to lessen the increased burden his sister figure's words had left in his mind a moment ago.

"I hope so too Mito. I really do…" his voice replied to no one in particular while he himself lied back down with a long sigh. His free arm covering his eyes while his envy upon feeling her ever peaceful slumber increased quite a bit.

He needed a sleep like that too.

 _It had been years since he had let himself rest like that, after all…_

* * *

 **Hayakawa Village**

* * *

Numerous chains perforated the branch - upon which, one Uchiha had rested over not even a second ago. To the point, there was nothing but slivers of wood were left in it's wake.

Landing as softly as a dry leaf on the ground, Naruto was off in a blur as soon as his toes touched the ground.

Going in straight for the girl - the same one who was looking at him in pure admiration while being rooted to the same damn spot, all this while.

He had full intention of doing her in, as soon as he was within arms reach - all with a clean and swift slash of his sword.

But it soon took a turn to be aimed at as quite an accomplishment to achieve - seeing how chains upon chains started sprouting out from the ground in front of him.

He could discern those chains quite clearly, even in this dark of an environment.

The same ones with thorn like protrusions embedded within each of their links to make them even more deadly.

But the most deadly part of them all - were those long and pointed spear-like spikes that were covering each of their ends.

Any idiot could tell those chains had been designed by the conjurer with only one intention in mind.

The intention to kill.

But he wasn't one who was about to be scared off by some technique like that.

Faster than she could blink, his feet picked up their pace instead of slowing down like any other sensible shinobi might have done. He wasn't even fazed enough to so much as blink upon seeing those metallic shackles coming at him from straight ahead. All in an attempt to turn him into a block of cheese any passing moment now.

But he had one thing that all of those sensible shinobi didn't possess.

He had his Sharingan.

And pumping up the chakra input to the back of his eyes, everything in front of him slowed down in an instant. Flicking his wrist loose that held the hilt of his sword, he began his dance.

The deadly dance of blades.

The **Kuroikazuchi** in his grasp hummed, almost vibrated in his hand when he fed it some more chakra to sharpen it's edge. It's razor like blade surpassing the sharpness of any known blade known to man, almost instantly.

It was said that when wielded by the one it had chosen as it's master, the sword could slice through virtually anything.

It was stupendously hard too. Rumored even to have been forged by the eternal black flames by one of the first ancestors of the Uchiha clan nearly a millennium ago.

And at the last possible moment - really, the last, almost split second - he twisted himself in a circular arc and brought his sword vertically up.

And the two weapons made contact.

The chain was shattered like it was made of glass. And almost as if it were their own will - two more chains took it's job to pierce him through his liver and right lung with absolutely no time for respite.

But it was all for naught.

Before the girl could even blink, or even realize what her chains were about to do - he was already on the counter offensive.

Jumping back to avoid another chain right from under his feet, Naruto cleaved it in half as soon as he whizzed past it, so as to not lose any of his momentum.

The girl in question, took a hesitant step back seeing his sudden onslaught and pushed her hand forward - commanding the four chains still behind her to go on the attack.

To be honest she was a bit peeved seeing how he was handling the situation.

No one else had ever responded to her chains in that matter.

Most were dead by this point, and those that were lucky or skilled enough to be alive were looking for ways to escape by now.

No one had ever even thought about attacking her.

Not until now…

But it wasn't just this that peeved her.

Her chains were extraordinarily strong, she had tested them quite a few times. They were hailed as nigh unbreakable, but he; he was cleaving through them as if they were made of butter.

And it disturbed her quite a bit.

Not in the scared sense.

Oh no, far from it…

She felt a little tingly - giddy almost.

Licking her lips softly, she rubbed her thighs together while her heart raced upon seeing the sight in front of her.

Seeing his flailing hair, when he shattered yet another chain to dust. She caught a sight that she wasn't about to forget anytime soon now.

His flailing blonde locks drenched in sweat, which dusted off like sparkles off his face in the moonlight.

And his eyes…

Oh kami, those exotic eyes…

One moment they were that adorable baby blue. But this…

This lovely, beautiful, and almost twisted shade of crimson. A shade that reminded her of her favorite liquid in the whole wide world.

This had an effect over her like no other.

Kami, was he making her feel so alive and -

So aroused…

Naruto, unaware of everything going through his opponents mind, jumped up - onto a chain - and ran over it. All while glancing away the chain that scratched his sword's flat blade in a loud screeching noise, sparks flying with each second the two metallic objects remained in contact.

But that didn't deter his momentum in the slightest.

Jumping off from the chain he was over so she could not try any funny business by wrapping him up in the chain, still not quite aware he was spurring her on even more with these completely unpredictable moves of his - he continued on his onslaught to destroy these annoying chains into oblivion.

But his eyes, dancing around all the time to predict their paths had let him detect one more thing. A thing that one might not have noticed, if not for his astute awareness even in the face of such fiery combat that is.

He had scratched out a weakness.

As many as he destroyed, she replaced them almost instantly.

But even still, there was a pattern.

Never had she increased that number beyond twenty four.

And that was the weakness - a limit.

It was only to be expected seeing how hard they were. With each strike he was making - he could feel the strain it was putting on his sword. Each broken chain made his sword vibrate, and that was a first.

His sword usually cleaved through metal like it was nothing if he willed it so. His grandmother's chain weren't even enough to offer him resistance if and when they did spar seriously.

These chains certainly were no joke.

They were hard, like impossibly hard.

But therein lay their weakness.

To maintain that rigidity and strength - she was compromising numbers.

And seeing how she wasn't moving in the slightest but just staring down at him like he was Kami's gift to man - it must be a stressful technique to control in the manner she was doing. Not once had a chain impacted with another no matter how he had tried to manipulate in making her do so. So, the concentration she was letting out must be insane to hold such a technique for so long.

Not to question her reserves, she had one hell of a chakra reserve to hold these chains and keep on replacing them as long as she had.

But he had to finish them right now.

He didn't have that kind of chakra to waste and throw like she was doing, and still not even look fazed. So he was holding back his techniques until he could discern what weaknesses she had before he opened up his repertoire of techniques.

Even better, if he could finish this without them.

That would be as efficient as he's like.

And just now he had found a third hole in her technique.

The chain he had glanced to the side of his ear just now had not disappeared.

But to the degree of control she was using them with, it must have been better to just make it vanish and attack with a new replacement straight from the front of him.

It would have been much more efficient than stopping the chain then, changing it's trajectory and turning it back on him that might open up new problems of it clanging with another chain's path from the front.

So why didn't she?

Or was it - why couldn't she?

Hmm…

Maybe she didn't want to dispel them as it would be quite a lot of chakra wastage to replace. Or was it maybe she couldn't…

Well, he was up for a trial and error for certainty testing.

But he would have to be swift, his quick movements were racking up a lot of energy. And he certainly wasn't a beast as was Tsunade with her humongous reserves or this twisted enemy in front of him.

He had to keep a good chunk in reserve if she had something up her sleeve for later on.

So, quick as a bolt - he was off again to close the distance.

The girl, having no time for respite from his onslaught just let her remaining three chains out in front of her to stop him.

He was just too much for her to handle.

And that wasn't in terms of strength or skill. Well…her lower abdomen regions were killing her right now and she was doing all that she could to keep herself composed.

All three chains converged in on him like a helix in formation, intent on piercing and pulling him back to make some distance at the same time.

Not like he was having any of it…

A huge burst of chakra in his soles, and he was off the ground like a spring high in the air.

Like a bouquet the chains spread and swirled to keep their momentum and direct it upwards - straight at him while he was still in mind air.

And completely vulnerable.

But in a flash his sword was sheathed again in it's holster. His hands forced themselves in his hip pouch and plucked out the metal stars and kunais he was looking for in a split second.

His Sharingan watched the chains come towards him calmly. Still being upside down in mid air mind you. Slinging out the end of a small coil of ninja wire in his teeth, it was sown in expertly through all the weapon's holes before any human eyes could do so much as to follow those movements.

A shinobi had to be as discrete as possible.

Tobirama had always been adamant in that point whenever the man was training him.

So he began the hypothesis to test his opponent a little.

Like an upside down top, he spun.

Each shuriken between his fingers was launched at a precise gap of time, so as to hit each target perfectly well.

Almost inhumanely well…

And hit their target they did.

Like a cyclone of metal, each shuriken embedded itself in the small gap right in between each link of the chain. Each chain getting speared by dozen of weapons, each right in between the weak point of it's links.

And it served it's purpose, embedding the three chains to various trees way too far away from each other. In a show of acrobatic ability, he twisted and turned his body, straightened himself out and landed on his feet;

His feet landed on the chains sprouting from her back to be precise, one foot on each of her chains.

Naruto let his knees bend at right angles to soak up the impact of the fall, but also for another purpose.

Like a predator, he leaned his chin down near her shoulder- his lips grazing past her ears to let his menacing, panting breaths tickle her cold ears.

"Now you're done."

His voice, almost resonating a bloodthirsty shinigami for a moment, whispered ever so softly in her ear.

She glanced back just for a second, just to see his shadowed face only letting her see those luscious eyes of his.

Her eyes closed - partly half lidded and her face started showing signs of relief when she looked on ahead. All restraints she was keeping to keep herself composed went out the window as soon as she had heard that whisper.

But they were utterly crushed seeing that intimidating way he had threatened her just now.

 _This boy was just too much for her…_

As if turning to jelly, the girl's legs gave way and she fell down. Her chains disappearing too - due in part to the sudden blanking out of her mind.

The girl's breathing became labored, she could feel her heart hammer and a small thing that annoyed her was that he had ruined her frock a little.

She had liked that frock - especially,when she had taken it after killing the store owner for it.

But she liked this boy even more.

Like a schoolgirl being found up skirt, she clenched her frock down her thighs shyly. Her cheeks a brilliant shade of red while she relished in the aftermath of her sudden, yet pleasured release.

A slick noise, almost inaudible to anyone sort of a slinging noise gave way as Naruto unsheathed the sword from over his right shoulder. Placing it's shining blade by the side of her neck, he narrowed his eyes when she didn't even so much as flinch from it's cold touch.

But he had to do something before he finished her off.

He needed some information out of her.

This was something he wouldn't be able to live with - if he didn't accomplish right now.

Tobirama would certainly have his head for not finishing his enemy off when she was clealry out of it. But he decided to be a bit foolish for now in the name of some interrogation…

Not that it made him feel any less stupid…

"Why did you do it?" his voice was icy, sharp and to the point.

He needed answers, and kami damn it - he needed them now.

To think she had wiped off a whole damn village off the map, even if she had the skills to do it - her reasons, he had to hear.

When she didn't answer for five seconds, he released the pressure off her neck to make some momentum and be done with it.

But his sword stopped it's final swing when she did in fact speak.

"Because of you." her answer made his blood drop a few degrees in temperature.

Every cell in his body chilled while he had half a mind to let her head roll just for the ridiculous nonsense she was spouting.

And every damn sense of his screamed at him to kill and run.

But when she continued on, each word she said made his mind and heart race at a million miles an hour.

"I came here in the afternoon and I waited, and I waited and I waited..." her shy eyes glanced at him innocently, his own eyes as chilly as they were a moment ago. But she was far from finished. "…but you didn't come." gulping thickly, his own hands trembled slightly.

What was she saying?

Was he the one she was here for?

Her voice once more broke his thoughts of a million questions…

"So I got bored, but I stayed put like a good girl. But that annoying guard just had to set me off, so I just killed him off and be a good girl again. But then, I don't why, they all panicked and well…here we are…" with each word, horror overtook his very being hearing her reasons for such a wide scaled massacre.

All because a guard had ticked her off?

She went on ahead and killed them all?

To top it all off, she was saying it so innocently as if she were the victim here.

But one question still boiled up and down his mind.

Logic took hold of his mind for a single second before he went through with his instincts completely.

"The bodies, where are they? What did you do with them?" tightening his blade over her skin to prick it slightly and draw a trickle of blood, he emphasized his point and her current position.

The corpse of a shinobi was valuable, but the corpses of a shinobi whose whole clan was now probably extinct was invaluable.

He had to know what she had done with her.

"Oh those…" her off handed voice made the pressure on her neck increase even further, he was grinding his teeth into dust by now.

What the hell was she?

Just one wrong word, and swear as he might upon his clan's name;

Her head would roll…

"I staked them right outside the other end of the village on a few trees, made it seem like a bouquet of sorts. It was a little hard but it really is pretty, I'll show you…" was all she could spout out before he had cleaved her head straight off her neck.

And just like he had expected, her head and body splattered down into water.

A substitution.

Before he could so much as blink, dozens upon dozens of chains broke out from underneath his feet and staked all across his body - each one at a non fatal point.

She wasn't here to kill him.

She was here just for him, the rest had only been victim's.

And like a clean pane of glass, everything made sense to him.

He hadn't walked into a village where enemy shinobi were looking for anyone to kill.

No, he had walked into something much much worse.

For, Naruto Uchiha, had willingly walked into a trap laid there just for him.

He wasn't the predator here - he was the prey.

And just like the predator he had surmised her to be, she came out from behind him - her slender, frail looking arms snaking around his staked torso.

"You're not the only one who knows clones."

His whisper made her look at him confused, as was shown by the cute flick of her head to the side. But her eyes widened when the boy pierced in her chains disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

A shadow clone.

"You really are too much Naruto-kun, no wonder he wants you so much. Run, but you won't escape me…" her whisper accompanied with a bloodthirsty smile looking so much more deadly on her innocent young seventeen-year-old face while she willed her chain back into her body for the time being. "…I will have you love. For me, and only me has the right to completely destroy you. Let's play if you want to hehe…" her melodic giggles filled up the clearing as she made her way out with a slight sway of her hips.

She couldn't wait to feel the fun when she broke free the chains that were holding him back so much.

He really had so much potential, just like ' _he'_ had told her…

* * *

 **Meanwhile, a mile away from the village…**

* * *

"It's only four hours to dawn." Duy told no one in particular. Eyeing the moon for it's position to gauge the time, he had nothing else to do.

If Sakumo had heard him while he was lying down on the branch above the tree Duy sat under, the silver haired genin showed no signs of acknowledgment.

He himself wasn't in the right state of mind right now.

That idiot, that go forsaken, thrice damned, idealistic and prideful friend of his was off in the village that reeked of blood and death while he was here, lying down doing nothing.

His heart screamed at him to go in, all guns blazing and get that blonde idiot out - knocked unconscious preferably.

But his mind, his training and years upon years of his father's teachings still stood tall. He was doing the right thing, why risk everything for something they didn't even need to do in the first place?

But why hadn't he returned by now?

It had been a long time now, two hours in fact since Naruto had walked into that hellish village.

"You know Sakumo…" his inner turmoil was broken off while he gazed down at Duy, who was sitting there pretending to read a scroll - pretending because it was a sealing scroll that carried their supplies - but had just broken the long bouts of silence between them yet again.

"I feel like a coward." that struck a chord in the listener's heart. Sitting up, Sakumo was now paying rapt attention to Duy and what he had to say.

Rarely, if ever, was the ever youthful boy this serious.

But today, the situations really were dire and complicated to say the least.

So he wasn't surprised.

Not much…

"We are not cowards Duy, we are doing the right thing…" Sakumo's voice was harsh, and it wasn't aimed at Duy. It came out that way because he himself felt the same damn way, as much as he was loathe to admit it out loud.

"We are shinobi." he consoled himself more than he did for Duy, who had once more gone silent. Lacking any signs of his usual enthusiastic fervor right now.

Looking at Duy's slumped form, Sakumo felt even more angrier at Naruto.

Why couldn't he just listen to him and be sensible?

For once maybe?

Was that really too much to ask?

He absolutely hated that part of his usually calm and lazy friend.

Especially, when he'd get all idealistic and become as stubborn as a rock. not caring who was in front of him and would go in all guns blazing as if he was possessed by another reckless soul of sorts.

But it was who he was.

There was no denying that.

He'd be more worried if he didn't do things like that.

"Duy listen to me…" the bushy boy looked up upon hearing the call and saw Sakumo's consoling smile. "…he needs to learn restraints. We can't always bail him ou-" Sakumo's neck snapped straight in the direction of the village while the words died down in his throat.

Jumping down by Duy's side, who was on guard seeing this sudden change of demeanor in Sakumo - Duy felt quite confused in the situation.

Sakumo gulped audibly, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple and stopping at the tip of his chin to show just how intimidated he truly felt.

That sudden upsurge of chakra he was sensing, it was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

How could a human even possess so much chakra?

Both genin's eyes widened in horror seeing the village they hadn't dared to enter light up to life in a bright yellow glow.

Sakumo's mind was analyzing things at a mile a minute.

To power up a technique of that scale, most probably a small battalion of shinobi would be required.

Five teams - high chunin level at the very least.

And that in itself spelt trouble for Naruto.

"Oi Sakumo-" Sakumo looked on at Duy shaking his arm to snap him out of his stupor, while he was fastening his orange leg warmers up tight.

"Duy what do you think you're -"

"I'm going in." just like that Duy's orange scarf was clenched in Sakumo's hand while he glared down at him murderously.

What the hell was wrong with them?

Did everyone he know loved to turn suicidal as soon as they saw a challenge that they knew the couldn't survive?

What the hell were they trying to prove?

But he was shocked when Duy pushed his arm back and made some distance with a new found cold look in his eyes.

The taijutsu user had finally had enough.

"He would do it for me."

Just like that, all the accumulated anger drained from Sakumo's body.

Those words from Duy hit him harder than any enemy could have done right now.

He just watched Duy run into the village as fast as he possibly could, without giving away his presence while he stood there - dazed out of his wits, and hitting a complete blank at the moment.

Naruto really would do it for Duy - no, not just for Duy.

For Tsunade, for their sensei, for any Leaf shinobi - he'd lay down his life without a thought if he knew there was even a sliver of a chance that he could help them.

He had proved it a few hours ago, he'd even do it for complete strangers - allies or not.

Naruto _**would do it**_ for him.

Without another thought, he took off right before Duy.

His father and family's training and ideologies be damned, his friend needed him - and he needed him _now_.

All senses of logic and fear lay forgotten while only one thought chanted in his mind like a stuck record;

Over and over and over again…

" _Hold on until I get there. Don't you die on me you reckless fool_ _!_ _"_

* * *

 **Meanwhile back in the Hayakawa village streets…**

* * *

 **In an unknown alley…**

* * *

A golden blur ran through the streets, agility and thoughts like that of a frightened rabbit - Naruto ran as if his life depended on it.

He had picked up his pace when the clone he had substituted with - he had substituted as soon as the girl had fallen down on her knees and told him she was there for him - had, in fact, been the right choice on his part.

If she was here for him, then he was in a trap.

And the only thing for him to do in this situation was run and escape this village.

He had, after all, gotten all the information he needed from her.

She was an Uzumaki, no doubt about that.

If her chains weren't a dead give away, her massive - almost inhumane chakra reserves she had used to spear his clone with a couple dozen chains even after their exhausting bout certainly had sealed the deal for him.

That was no ordinary Uzumaki girl either.

Since, as far as he knew - all Senju's and Uzumaki's were, in fact, blessed with such stamina, reserves and healing abilities.

The Uzumaki's taking the advantage in quantity of their chakra while the cousin Senju's had the potency of chakra more so than them in a few rare cases but both had a healing factor that was completely a random phenomenon as to who had how strong of a resilience.

Even the density of chakra varied with person to person.

But this girl's reserves already surpassed his grandmother's by a fair margin and even then he knew she was, in fact, only just getting started.

So there was only one thing left for him to do.

Get the information;

…and run.

And run he did - just as he passed another corned to get out of this village as soon as he could before she caught on to his escape plan.

But his eyes snapped down at his feet when his Sharingan picked up on a small interference on the ground. A change that made him halt his movement for a minute to analyze it further.

Narrowing his eyes on them, he focused on that strange thing before they widened to the point of turning a bit comical just as soon as realization struck him.

"Shit!" the curse slipped past his lips when he finally realized what that black marking that had appeared on the ground truly was.

Kanji.

And that could mean only one thing - from as much as he had learned about his opponent , it could mean only one thing right now.

She was an Uzumaki.

So the thing underneath his feet was in fact a seal.

Rushing out the dark alley to escape it, his eyes didn't lose their widened state when he frantically stared back and forth the path to see the whole middle street covered in Kanji.

In fact, if his guess was right - then the range of this technique covered this entire village.

" _A village-wide sealing technique_ _!_ _I was in checkmate as soon as I entered this damn village_ _!_ _"_ his mind screamed in anguish and defeat.

But he took a calming breath, no point in thinking of the obvious.

What would Tobirama do if he were here? What was the right course he could take?

He couldn't escape the village in time, any second now she'd activate her technique and he would most likely be trapped like a hamster in her palms.

And seals were a powerful asset if the caster had the time to prepare it first hand.

She certainly had taken her time for this, seeing, she did in fact go through the lengths of covering the whole damn village in it!

* * *

" _ **Every technique has a weakness. There are no exceptions - So, calm yourself down."**_

* * *

Years ago, in a training ground when Tobirama had trapped him down in a low level seal - he had been six if he remembered right.

He had heard those words from the strict master.

* * *

" _ **Analyze the technique, you have your Sharingan to help you, and a sharp mind to go with it. Accept that you are trapped, break down the opponent's techniques' - straight down to the basics and devise the most suitable counter even if it isn't perfect. Your priority is containment of the technique and fortification of your survival…"**_

* * *

"...by any means necessary." he whispered the last of his mentor's words and closed his eyes for a moment before glaring down at the ground.

He still had the advantage.

He knew of her skills, but she didn't know of his as much as he did of hers.

He had made sure of it and kept his reserves intact during their battle.

She was an Uzumaki, so this was most probably an Uzumaki seal.

And Uzumaki sealing techniques - he was well versed in.

A small smile lit up his face even as the ground underneath his feet lit up - the kanji lit up, to be precise.

But that was besides the point.

Just before the kanji started wrapping up around his ankles, his hands formed the Dog seal and held the Boar seal while he he felt himself getting paralyzed when the he was covered head to toe in Kanji.

" _This is a high level paralysis seal, Uzumaki sealing style no doubt. I don't feel any pain so no torture triggers, but I have lost all control over my body. It is cutting off my consciousness from the rest of my body to paralyze me in place and anyone else who might be in range. She most probably needs me alive for some reason or the other."_ his summarizing ended when the source of all his problems appeared from the corner of the streets in all her glory.

Now, with the light here illuminating his enemy a lot more than before, he could see her crimson hair going down her hips and her violet eyes - eyes that were a lot more darker than Mito's, he noted to confirm him of her heritage.

But the menacing smile on her lips was almost palpable.

He couldn't let her do whatever it was she wanted with him.

He would most probably die, or worse…

"Naruto-kun…" her soft coo made his heart twist in agony when she was within a foot's distance in front of him.

She knew his name, now that was truly bad.

Holding onto his composure as best as he could, he was quite glad that his Sharingan and the chakra he had molded were still intact.

She had been careless enough not to put in chakra suppression seals in the sealing matrix. Granted, the seal matrix would have become a lot more taxing with sub elementary seals included seeing the scale of her technique.

But it was better to be safe than to be sorry in his opinion.

And by the pride of his teachers' teachings, she was going to be sorry for this little mistake.

Her violet eyes adoringly stared into his menacing crimson ones while he glared down at her with all his might.

Helplessly, for the time being he felt her hand sliding up from underneath his shirt and onto his skin in a manner that could be called harassingly seductive to some…

Disgust didn't even begin to describe what he felt when she pressed her lips onto his cheek for a kiss before letting her tongue do it's work on it, slowly and almost painfully - to him at least.

"I'll have so much fun breaking you. That is, before I unleash your true potential my love…" her soft purr in his ear didn't ease him in the slightest.

He prayed with all his might that his counter technique worked. The molded chakra responded from this hand seal while he wasn't molding it consciously.

And he prayed she didn't open that hand seal…

It was all he could do for now…

More like he couldn't do anything more than to will it awake by conjuring up all his spiritual energy into triggering his technique.

Just a trigger - that was all it was going to take.

He didn't even flinch when a chain pierced his abdomen, shying a hair length from fatally wounding his liver while she clawed her nails into his chest to draw a few trickles of blood.

Tobirama had made sure, that pain didn't affect him in the slightest.

And the man was downright sadistic in that department.

He had been quite…thorough in the pain endurance training his disciple had been put through - out of Mito's knowledge.

The man didn't want him losing a fight because he couldn't endure some pain.

This wasn't even training if he compared to how Tobirama would rip him apart through various ways when he had been merely a little child.

Well, now that he thought about those days - it could be called torture endurance training if he was honest with himself.

Nonetheless, his master had been right.

It was coming in handy today.

"You really are my type, not even flinching from pain. Yes, now I see what he sees in you…" another chain stabbed his right shoulder with her words but he was unfazed.

It was only a matter of time.

But he was storing away all this information for the time being.

She wasn't the only one, someone had sent her.

"Muh, but you could act like you're in pain…" she whined childishly, hugging him like a teddy bear while he bled from his wounds quite a bit when she pulled the chains out from his body.

She let him bleed for a while longer. He didn't need to be dead per say…

Just a little close to it would be fine…

Yeah that would do it!

When she sighed in defeat, he sighed in relief on the inside.

But his eyes did widen seeing her pull out a small syringe from her frock's pocket.

The black thing filled up in it's glass vial sure didn't look like she was giving him a vaccine for cold, that was for sure. And he sure as hell didn't want that non prescribed injection to be stabbed in his body right now.

"Let's unleash your potential then and cut straight to the chase, I've prepped you up quite enough. No point in killing you, it would be such a waste…" he knew that those stabs were the preparations she was referring to.

As soon as her free palm cupped his neck while she let her other hand pull the syringe closer to his neck, he knew he had run out of time.

But just in the nick of time, his trigger came and he smirked - confusing the girl quite a bit at the sudden change of emotions he was displaying.

Was he starting to enjoy this just like her?

That would be fun…she mused while putting a finger on her chin in thought

" **Lightning Style-"** he rasped out, her eyes widened when she heard those two words but it was too late for her to react to what followed next.

Willing the huge amount of chakra he had conjured up beforehand, his hand seal converting it into lightning chakra all the while she was marinating him - he let it go in inwardly.

Into his nervous system to be exact.

Many would find his actions suicidal in the current situation, but the line between crazy and genius was a fine one indeed - at least he believed it to be so…

It was a matter of opinion in all honesty.

A silent scream escaped his lips when each and every nerve in his body was jolted by thousands of volts of electricity as his technique was activated - from the inside out.

Pain endurance or not, though it was only thanks to that, that he was still conscious - it hurt like hell.

Cocking his fist up to the stupefied girl's stomach, he buried it and expelled his conjured up lightning chakra straight into her body.

The violent spasms of her body did make him smile a bit - if only for a bit.

She had after all dared to do those disgusting things to him.

No one touched him like that.

And he let the conjured chakra burst in a focused beam to throw her back, and away from him.

"B-But how, how can you move?" her pained whisper didn't even prompt him to answer her while he cracked his sore neck that she had gripped like a log not even a moment ago.

Watching her curling up into a ball, no doubt in pain - he felt no remorse.

Just indifference.

Now she would know it did hurt, even if he didn't show it.

Still covered in the Kanji of her technique, Naruto walked proudly - hiding any signs of the enormous pain he was experiencing each moment now and increased the chakra input into his technique.

Her high level paralysis seal was still activated.

But he was moving as if nothing was wrong with him.

At least not on the outside…

Blue lightning sparkled around him in a show of glowing sparks, a small booming thunder echoed in the streets while his hair stood a little from the static he had let out as soon as it reached it's peak voltage.

"You don't have to know how. Just know that I did." with that said, he bolted off - literally, he ran off in a bolt of lightning. His insane speedy movements leaving a trail of blue light behind him.

Naruto knew he didn't have much time. As soon as he would let this draining technique drop - he'd pass out from shock at the pain he was experiencing right now.

Otherwise he would have stopped to finish her off.

But tomorrow was another day.

Even if he could subdue the pain for now, it did affect his body and especially his mind as much as it would any other person.

His nervous system was now connected to his subconscious mind, and that was what had him running on his primal instincts right now.

The inward jolt had served to complete it's purpose - he was faster, had insane reactive instincts and coupled with his Sharingan - he was nigh untouchable.

But as with every technique, it had it's drawbacks.

As soon as he'd let his technique drop, he would pass out from the pain.

It was a crude imitation of the revered **Lightning Armor** wielded by the Nidaime Raikage. But he didn't have the inhumanely resilient body the Raikage possessed to endure the strain of this technique.

To think, the man used this with his much more potent Black Lightning and wasn't even affected by it - Naruto envied that man's resilient body.

This was the reason that even if one could replicate the man's technique, no one else could use it without this huge of a draw back.

Had he had that kind of a body, his nerve synapses electrocuted with this technique to create involuntary and blinding reactions of their own accords to anything considered dangerous would make it the perfect technique for him.

With the Sharingan to go along with it, he knew only the **Hiraishin** would be able to trump him in combat.

But it was a moot point, something impossible - just wasn't possible.

But he did have this fail safe in case he got trapped like he just had and had to run out.

After all, he was covering ten minutes worth of distance at normal speeds in a minute and a half, give or take.

But for the time being, especially against paralysis techniques - he had devised it to be the Achilles Heel against every damn one of them - be it ninjutsu or fuinjutsu.

But Tobirama had forbidden him from using it completely. Seeing how much he damaged his nervous system in it's aftermath after it's trial run a couple of years back.

Naruto scoffed inwardly, his mentor really one was to talk about forbidden techniques - the point itself was laughable.

He was a walking scroll labeled boldly as 'FORBIDDEN' from top to bottom.

Half a mile outside the village, Naruto saw two familiar figures and sighed in relief when his eyes saw who the two silhouettes really were.

He was running out of chakra after having kept it up for fifteen minutes already.

And had he mentioned that it hurt like a bitch?

He probably had…

But it did hurt like a bitch - that was a fact.

Duy and Sakumo almost fell down on their faces when a bolt of lightning thundered down in front of them with a deafening boom.

Both blinked owlishly seeing Naruto powering down his technique while the sparks surrounding him disappeared.

His hair remained in their position though.

One of the reasons he didn't like using this technique mind you…

And the black dots in his vision came up almost right at that moment as his eyes reverted back to their blue counterparts and Duy caught him from falling face first into the ground.

"Run." was his last whisper to his friend before unconsciousness claimed him.

Sakumo and Duy didn't need to be told twice.

Both boys bolted off, straight to Konoha with no signs of taking any stops in between - almost without a thought.

Seeing Naruto being carried like that on Duy's shoulder, Sakumo felt a deep regret for not even being able to go for help when he had most probably had fought the battle of his life.

Duy's crimson spandex covered shoulder that was wet from Naruto's bleeding and tapered body did increase that feeling ten fold.

He had been right.

That fool just did not listen.

"I told that reckless idiot not to go." his soft mutter was picked on by Duy, who smiled sadly seeing the pain and regret flashing in Sakumo's eyes that he was failing so miserably to hide.

"But he wouldn't be Naruto if he didn't. Our friend is just too youthful to listen to you Sakumo. Yosh!" even in this situation, Sakumo couldn't stop the laugh he let out hearing Duy return back to his energetic self.

Especially that 'yosh' part.

Even unconscious and bleeding, none of which were fatal - for which he was thankful for - did Naruto stop making troubles for him.

And it was then that Sakumo finally realized one thing…

"But I would have to make the report when we get back"

 _The joyful laugh that Duy let out hearing that made Sakumo want to murder his teammates himself…_

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : There is the next installment. Hope you all enjoyed the fight, but the suspense as to the girl's motives will remain intact for many a chapters.**_

 _ **Hmm, as for Naruto's abilities; I think I showed a good enough chunk of what he could do while not powering him too much. Never really did like the Shippuden (cough* DBZ *cough) fights as I did the first part ones.**_

 _ **I'll say one thing for the upcoming chapters to let you in on some future updates - the next time Naruto truly will go all out and battle an opponent long since overdue. Keep on guessing who that is until then.**_

 _ **But really, if you find yourself a bit confused - trust in the author and stick with the next few chapter where all loose ends will tie up. As I've said before, the plot of this story is clear in my mind and I expect to stick to it to the fullest.**_

 _ **And I will take a timeskip too, but not for at least - well I don't know how much but it's like another mission after the next one so keep guessing.**_

 _ **And the fight took a lot of words so don't rant on it's length, at least I think it was enjoyable.**_

 _ **So, I've said enough. Until next time, well you know the drill R &R and I'll see you next time.**_

 _ **NSE signing out.**_

* * *

 _ **PS: ONLY FOR DESERT FLOWER READERS, ESPECIALLY THE GUEST WHO IS HOUNDING THE REVIEWS - EVERYONE ELSE JUST IGNORE THIS PART : I know I've not been able to update it - so listen to me clearly because I'll only say this once. I am writing it and am about 2k words in. Being out of it for so long, I am not being able to get back into it as I am in the new ones so it takes some time.**_

 _ **So do remember I'll update it AS SOON AS I CAN. And I don't care if you were hurt by me breaking my promise because quite frankly I do try my hardest to write. So, please do bear with me and I do apologize quite humbly to one an all for the wait while I try to keep you up with the other ones and try to write it too.**_

 _ **That is all I'll say.**_

 _ **:)**_


	16. Blossoms

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Hokage Tower**

* * *

 **Council Chambers**

* * *

"What about the events that took place within the village?" the question asked quite simply did no justice to the amount of silent tension that had built up within these esteemed chambers of the Hokage Tower.

"I found it prudent not to enter so recklessly and stayed back. Might Duy too was convinced with my argument so we didn't enter. Since we did not go, I cannot answer what exactly took place within the village. The only one who can answer that question is Naruto Uchiha." as curt and brief as he could, Sakumo answered and stood stiffly in front of the top officials of the village. He was feeling the pressure of being in front of almost every official's scrutinizing eyes while they went over his mission report numerous times. It didn't help that they were pointing out each and every small detail to each other which went on in small whispers, that, much to Sakumo's dismay were inaudible to him.

"Did you try and stop him?" before Sakumo could answer, the Hyuga clan head interrupted him with a small condition of his own.

"Just a yes/no will suffice." he added sternly, and Sakumo wanted to say that it wouldn't be a fair argument without an explanation, but relented in the end. He was but a mere genin, while they were the top officials within the village with surplus amounts of power right now. It would be a fool's choice to try and argue with any of them right now.

"Yes, I did." just like that, he felt as if he had hammered down the final nail over Naruto's coffin. The report he had made to them was rolled up right in front of his eyes and stacked with the others. All the whispers going on around the room ceased altogether and were replaced by little warm smiles that didn't fool him in the slightest.

"Then I guess we should congratulate this genin." Akio Inuzuka broke the small tense silence and prompted several nods from the rest of them.

"Indeed." it was the Yamanaka clan head who had taken up the mantle to congratulate the boy for his success. "Your conduct was proper, as is expected of a team leader. You analyzed the situation astutely, made calm decisions and never once lost your cool or rushed in to give away your position until it was absolutely necessary. A fine job under pressure, if I do say so myself. A shinobi must know when to retreat and try and save as many as he could." relief washed over Sakumo's face while his tense shoulders loosened up a bit hearing that.

That was a close call.

Too close for comfort.

But he was glad that everyone had come out…

"However…" now that broke him out of his thoughts almost instantly. "…your teammate's actions, I do not think should go unnoticed." Sakumo did feel a sense of foreboding hearing that and gulped audibly seeing the small smiles that were threatening to break out on each of their faces.

It almost seemed as if they were enjoying this.

He just didn't know how close he was to the truth.

"I am bumping up this mission's rank to B, please collect your payments for the mission." walking up to the missions desk, Sakumo did collect the payment scrolls. This wasn't assigned by any client, it came under the jurisdiction of the village's internal affairs. So, they had all rights to do as they pleased with it's outcomes. But one thing was odd, he mulled inwardly when eyed the scroll in his palms with a hint of confusion flashing across his face.

"Sir, there are only two…?" he asked more than said. And it didn't look like they had made any mistake from the innocent looks plastered on each of their faces.

"Yes, that is yours and Might Duy's. We'll hold onto Naruto Uchiha's payment and the rectification of his actions until he is here to explain his side of the story. _Personally_." the last word was spoken with added emphasis, and Sakumo wanted to argue.

After all, what the hell had Duy and he himself actually done to deserve this raised payment for a mission where all they had done was travel to and fro between locations?

It was _Naruto_ who had rushed into enemy lines, it was _he_ who had fought…whoever it was he had fought. And even if it was a mistake on his part, _he_ deserved the payment much more than them if they were getting paid.

He _absolutely_ needed that money.

And there were numerous reasons he could speak of without even thinking about them.

How the hell would Naruto be paying for his living expenses. Much less the medical bills that were racking up at the hospital? Didn't these fools know he had to pay for every damn thing himself. Being an orphan along with a legal adult in the eyes of this village, he had no one to rely on.

Even Duy was better off than him simply because of the support he had from his parents who were involved in small merchant businesses in the village.

He opened his lips for a small protest of reason, but was cut off almost before he had even let a whisper slip past his lips.

"That will be all. You are dismissed" pursing his lips and clenching the scroll tightly in his palms, Sakumo walked out without a word. He ignored the orders they were giving out to the new team of chunin being sent out to recover the corpses from the fallen village.

He was far too engrossed in his own thoughts right now to care about anyone.

In the end, it was only Naruto who had taken the heat for this mission. While Duy and himself alone had reaped the fruits of his labor by sticking back from the danger and carrying his torn body back to the village.

For some reason, he didn't feel like getting paid for a mission rather than the guy who had _essentially_ done damn everything on his own. But that really was his heart speaking, even he knew that. Logically, they had done everything perfectly well. Naruto had been selfish and foolish by leaving them back and going in like that. It was only a miracle that he and Duy had come out of this unscathed by doing the right thing.

So, with a heavy payment scroll and an even heavier heart, the silver haired boy made his way to the hospital where his teammates were to pay a visit to that damn fool who was the primary cause of his self loathing right now.

"Well, as sensei always says - 'Missions don't always go as planned." he consoled himself.

Sakumo, at the very least hoped that Naruto hadn't injured himself beyond repair for such an unpretentious thing…

* * *

 ** _~~~Meanwhile..._**

* * *

 **Konoha Hospital**

* * *

"Um miss…" Duy couldn't help but squirm a little while standing in front of the regal looking woman who was looking at him quite…flatly. She had healed his friend, but even still she was making him quite nervous with that blank look on her eyes. It wasn't that he hadn't seen her before, he had. Each time he had been with Naruto, so he had gotten to see her warm side and even a couple of pats to his head.

And this was far from the woman he remembered seeing in the past.

"Is he alright?" he asked a little meekly to try and change the subject and at least get some sort of life in this dead looking corridor of the hospital. It was an irony in itself - the loudest member of Squad Seven speaking like a frightened rabbit, the idea itself was laughable. Duy had wanted it to come out polite, but this was all he could manage for now given the circumstances.

"Yes…" now that relieved him, even if only a little. "…if he had used that technique any longer, then surely it would have had some lasting effects. But he is fine for now." Mito couldn't even begin to describe her feelings at this point.

One minute she was having a peaceful sleep in her room, the next moment Duy had frantically barreled into her house saying Naruto needed her.

 _At the hospital no less_ _!_

And the blonde boy she adored so much, was in a condition she hadn't expected to see him in even in her wildest dreams. Apart from those gaping holes in his right shoulder and lower abdomen, her examination had left her dumbfounded. Thankfully, those holes at least were at non fatal points, but that was all that could be called _good news_.

Each and every nerve - and the nerve count in a human body was no joke - was strained to the point of almost collapsing! The effects largely resembled to ones that had been seen in someone getting shocked from a high level Lightning technique during intense combat. But this was like someone had kept it over him relentlessly without a break, just like torturers used on prisoners at the T&I department - only without the restraints they used so as to not kill them before milking out every damn word out of their mouths.

Which, for an element as offensive and draining as lightning, was completely unheard of.

No one, and that meant absolutely no one, ever used such a technique on themselves. So, her curiosity as to what exactly had occurred on that mission was quite reasonable.

"What technique was he using?" her sudden question made Duy blink out of his stupor. The boy, who had his palms on the small glass in Naruto's door and was trying and failing to glance a peek at his downed friend thought about what he had seen for a moment.

"Um, I don't really know…" the narrowing of Mito's eyes didn't help his nervous case any, that was for sure. But he wasn't lying, he hadn't ever seen an electrically charged human like that before. "…he was running at blinding speeds. I've never seen him go that fast to be honest." now that did surprise her. She herself knew the boy she was talking to was no slouch in speed himself, even though Naruto was blindingly fast if he needed to be - more so than this…green boy…in front of her.

But that didn't answer her question.

And it annoyed her to no end…

So before her wrath fell on Duy, the boy tried to plead his case as much as he could lest he become her target and primary focus for venting out her frustrations.

"He was covered in lightning from head to toe, I mean really he was glowing…" emphasizing his point by showing his own body like a stripper of sorts, he felt quite stupid. But anything was better than facing an angry woman in his opinion.

"You mean literally?" the sheepish look her gave her cemented that she was right and did help the boy who was trying and failing to explain his sentence and thereby his case, a lot.

"I see." his long sigh upon hearing that did show her that he had nothing else to add. But Mito could devise the rest on her own - Naruto was quite possibly electrocuting himself from the inside out to achieve that extraordinary feat. It was quite a genius tactic in her opinion, but it didn't make her turn any less livid right now for the after effects of said technique.

The boy was not built like a tank. He was a quick and agile child, always relying on his instincts and speed much more than he did on brute strength and power. If she was completely honest, he looked like he would be happy each time he would win while doing as little as he could.

One could call that lazy but Tobirama his mentor called that efficient.

She however knew the truth a bit more than him.

Naruto always avoided conflict as much as he could. So to finish off a fight like that or run away when he had the chance to was exactly what she would expect from him.

But running away in _this manner_ was a different matter altogether.

"Oi! oi! oi!" Duy's bouncing form broke her thoughts. Right before her fist could bonk the boy gently to chastise and remind him he was in a hospital of all places she saw his sparkling eyes and grew a little confused herself.

"HE MOVED!" her eyes widened hearing that, it just wasn't possible. The boy had been out cold from pure shock at the immense pain he had endured due to his technique. He shouldn't be able to wake up, much less move for at least two days straight right now.

That was on top of the point that she had just given him a really high dose of some mild tranquilizing sedatives - no more than a couple of hours ago.

But her mulling was cut short when another shout rang loud in the silent hallways they resided within.

"BAA-CHAN?!" she wanted to scold and bonk everyone here to remind them that this was a damn hospital. Only then did she realize that only two people in the whole world called her that, one was right now in the room she was just in an hour ago and quite possibly unconscious.

So that only left…

"Tsuna-" before she could finish, her granddaughter had cut her off.

"Where is he?" in but a moment Mito knew the girl was quite aware of her friend's condition. Glancing slightly behind the girl, she saw an apologetic looking Sakumo rubbing his head sheepishly.

Well, that answered that…

"He's in this room." Duy, answered the girl dumbly while pointing a finger at the door in front of him. And before Mito could even realize what had happened, Tsunade was already closing the door to said room behind her.

The redhead's heart almost popped right out of her chest while her eyes went wide in shock. Honestly, none of these people had any restraint whatsoever. Which was proved when she caught Duy's scarf while he too had found it prudent to follow Tsunade's incentive and go visit his friend who had just _come out of surgery mind you_!

"No visitors allowed." her stern tone left no room for argument. Like a little kitten, she picked him up by his scarf and placed him by Sakumo's side to go in and take Tsunade out of the room the same way. Then she would have to drill in some etiquette and common sense into these two hyperactive children of hers.

Mito had expected her granddaughter to be shouting out profanities at the boy, hugging him to death or anything close to those two. But what she hadn't expected was her little girl sitting down by the chair kept to his bedside. She looked as calm as a shadow while her palms rested on her thighs.

Seeing her so calm and silent was rather odd.

The girl was bursting forth with surplus energy even after enduring some sort of strenuous activity at the end of the day. It was all thanks to her own genes passed on to her granddaughter that gave her the legendary stamina, which nearly all Uzumaki's were generally renowned for.

"Tsunade?" no reaction came from the girl so she tried again. "Honey?" the girl's sudden quiet attitude was honestly worrying her. As was evident by the hesitance in her whispering soft voice. Walking right behind her granddaughter and clasping the girl's shoulder to make her presence known, only then did she see the small glittering drops rolling down her cheeks when she realized;

The girl was crying silently.

"He's so hurt." hearing her child's soft sniffle made her grandmother's heart ache. But it was to be expected seeing how bad Naruto looked right now.

"It isn't as bad as it looks sweetie." Mito cooed the girl to calm her down. She herself knew what anyone would think seeing him right now. Head to toe was he wrapped up in bandages, looking akin to a mummy more so than a breathing human. But it was only due to the surgery she had gone through to repair his nervous system that he was looking this way.

It wasn't needed in the first place. His condition hadn't really been severe enough to warrant a surgery. But she knew that in order to have a peaceful sleep in her eyes at night, she needed to be absolutely sure of the boy's safety thus came the need for a complete surgery.

Mito rubbed Tsunade's head soothingly and wiped her wet cheeks from behind to calm her girl down. "…I leave him alone for a day, and he does that. That reckless idiot." her cracking voice was barely an inch away from turning into a cry and Mito could feel that she was holding herself back.

Feeling all her protectiveness wash over her, the Uzumaki heiress wrapped the girl up in her arms from behind and pressed her lips on top of Tsunade's head for a soft peck.

"So you don't care?" she was teasing her, of course the girl was worried. Why else would she be crying? But anything to take her worries and turn them into a laugh would be a welcome proposition right now.

"Of course I don't care…" it did surprise Mito on what she was hearing. The girl's words truly did contradict her actions it seemed. "…who the hell does he think he is? I don't care if he lives or if he-he…" Mito placed her fingers on her lips and hushed the stubborn girl up when her voice finally cracked and she let out a soft cry. However much she tried to hide, these two were just way too connected to not worry about each other.

"Baa-chan…let go…" Mito was shocked when the girl started wriggling out of her grip as if she were the plague. But only then did she see Naruto's slightly moving hand and his flickering eyelids in this dark room.

" _But how-?_ _!_ _"_ she though in shock and utter despair. _"Duy wasn't imagining it, he really is moving_ _!_ _"_ she would have screamed had she not been mindful of her surroundings.

"Naru- hey Naru?!" Mito went to stop the boy when he tried to raise his shaky hand up. It was shaking like a dry leaf right now. His whole nervous system was punctured due to the internal surgery she had performed on him herself. He might hurt himself even more, not counting the pain even a twitch of his fingers would cause him right now. But seeing what was taking place right before her eyes…

She almost felt like crying a moment later.

Seeing him clasp Tsunade's hand in his own bandaged one, even when he obviously was out cold. His eyes weren't even focused, clearly her sedatives had worked perfectly. He had merely woken up for a moment and from her guess, would fall unconscious any moment now as far as she could surmise.

But to see her two babies, the same ones she had seen grow up right before her very eyes in that moment - seeing his unfocused eyes staring into Tsunade's worried glittering ones in that darkly lit room -

Mito wanted to cherish that moment in her memory forever.

Their bond was indeed a special one.

She had known it for a long time now.

Hell, even Tobirama had known it - and he was the epitome of dumb when it came to matters of feelings and emotions. She wanted to laugh at the same time too though. The only ones who probably hadn't realize it were the two involved blondes themselves.

It really was rather ironic in itself if one delved deeply into the matter.

"Sleep, I'll watch over you tonight." Tsunade's soft whisper made Mito blink off a small tear from her tear ducts. A feeling of pure sadness washed over Mito seeing her granddaughter like that. It was almost as if the girl was radiating an aura of pure sadness…

 _Not that couldn't be it…_

 _Could it?_ _!_

For the Senju heiress herself, she was far too concerned about her friend to care about the world right now. Not even more than a few days ago he was watching over her. And now here he was looking like he had been thrown into a grinder of sorts, out like a light from the realms of consciousness.

Mito, for all that was holy, didn't want to disturb her little ones at that point of time. But that was just her heart speaking, her mind was still open to reason. However hard it was to focus, but that was besides the point…

"Sweetie…" Mito cooed the girl gently, and failed to get so much as a twitch of acknowledgment from the girl in her arms. "…we need to let him rest. Let's go." Mito almost gasped when Tsunade glanced back at her.

No not at her, it almost seemed as if the girl was seeing right through her!

Tsunade's eyes were downright murderous and unknowingly her killing intent washed over the room. The killing intent didn't even faze Mito in the slightest, it was the apparition of a vision she had just seen manifesting itself right by her little girl that had shook her to her very core.

Hashirama Senju.

She had seen that look before. It was the same look her husband had held on that accursed day, many decades ago. She had buried that godforsaken memory in the deepest recesses of her mind to forget about it altogether. But it had come back to haunt her full force yet again, in a matter she hadn't thought possible even in her wildest dreams.

The man had the same look in his eyes when she had lost her unborn son due to…

It still pained her heart to even remember it. But to see that dreaded look in her granddaughter's eyes - left her utterly speechless.

"I'll stay with him." her cold voice once more sent a tremor, straight to Mito's core. Wordlessly, the elder woman nodded. She knew the girl wasn't in any state to listen, let alone obey what she might say or reason to her. But to think she was so furious right now, Mito knew the girl would fight _even her_ to stay - if need be.

Tsunade turned her cold eyes back to her friend, and immediately they softened considerably while worry washed in them. She felt her hair being drifted off to her right shoulder from a soft touch on the back of her neck, no doubt by her grandmother. But she paid no heed to it and caressed Naruto's hand with her thumb as gently as she could.

However, she felt quite strange upon feeling a soft poke at the back of her neck. Before she could even try to turn her neck or comprehend what had actually happened, she felt a small jolt at the point of contact. Her honey colored orbs rolled back in their sockets while she slumped back in Mito's warm embrace completely unconscious.

It was marvelous what a small lightning technique could do in the hands of an expert medical kunoichi.

"I'm sorry honey, but he needs his rest." speaking more to herself than to the girl in her arms, Mito undid the grip her two children held with their hands as gently as she possibly could. A moment later, the little slumped girl was scooped up in her arms while she walked out but not before throwing a worried glanced back at Naruto and then down at the sleeping Tsunade in her arms. She smiled warmly and closed the door behind her.

Her children were just such handfuls, she might just shave a few years if she had to put up with these troublesome ones like this any longer. Her giggle came out of it's own accord when she thought over her own thoughts. Softly kissing her adorable munchkin's nose, Mito quite enjoyed the irritated scrunching of Tsunade's face while she nuzzled her face in her chest to hide from that annoying touch that disturbed her forced slumber so much.

A tired sigh slipped past Mito's lips seeing Sakumo and Duy waiting expectantly for her.

"He's fine now…" she spoke up swiftly when both boys opened their lips to say something. "…you cannot see him right now." the way they slumped in defeat without so much s a whisper made her giggle happily.

"Go home for today, come and see him tomorrow. I'll arrange for some visiting hours day after tomorrow when he is finally ready to wake up. Alright?" the two vigorous nods she got only served to widen her smile ever so slightly.

Walking out the hospital as gracefully as ever, even while holding her child she lost none of her ever present grace she exuded almost involuntarily now. She did feel as if she had lived for over a year what all had been occurring in the past of couple of weeks.

 _Time could be such a strange entity sometimes…_

* * *

 _ **~~~A couple of days later…**_

* * *

Everyone in the hospital smiled. The source of said happiness in such a gloomy place one might ask? Well, a certain blonde kunoichi walking with a hop to her feet was the primary source of said reason. The cheerful smile she was flashing almost made everyone around her cheer up, and when she greeted someone passing her by she earned a soft pat to her head from each of them.

It was of no doubt to anyone in the village that everyone did adore their princess way too much…

But everyone was eyeing the small serving pot in her hands a bit oddly.

It was clearly one used for serving food, which it quite obviously contained. But what was off was the strange smell it was letting out.

" _Hah_ _!_ _Now he can never say again that I've never done anything for him."_ indeed her friend was quite blunt when it came to speaking his heart. And he had said so on more than one occasion, but she had never minded it in the least. She knew that he didn't ever mean it with that playful smile always on his face.

But it was still true;

And that had annoyed her to no end.

But today, even her grandmother had been pleased with what she was doing in the kitchen so early in the morning to prepare a home cooked meal for her recuperating friend.

But looking upwards to the ceiling, in all the innocence of the world - she couldn't quite comprehend the strange look her grandmother had given her when she had showed her the food she had made so diligently in the morning. But then, before she could ask her anything she was pushed out the house and it still left her baffled to no end.

These old people were just too strange for her to understand…

Seeing the room she had been looking for what felt like an eternity, a wide smile broke onto her face as she slid the door open enthusiastically. "Naruto! Look I brought you…" an imaginary breeze flew in the room when she saw it completely devoid of any sins of life. "…some food." she whispered to no one in particular with an innocent blink. Stepping in, she looked around in the bathroom, then under the bed, behind the flower vase by the corner…

Then she felt quite stupid.

She was looking for her friend, not some bug.

Only then did a look of enlightening realization dawned over her face;

And her face changed from one of honest confusion to one of righteous fury in no more than the blink of an eye…

"That annoying, no good idiot!" she hissed angrily when she realized what exactly must have happened. "I'm going to annihilate him this time I swear!" her snarl was accompanied by her slamming the door behind her. Every patient on the floor glanced out their windows to see the chirpy girl they had seen a moment ago turn downright murderous. She started stomping her way out of the hospital while gritting her teeth in annoyance.

How the hell could she forget that damned idiot hated hospitals like the plague? He was infamous for escaping them just as soon as that annoying pest she considered her friend was able to get on his feet.

She didn't even need to ask the help desk for where he had gone off to after being released. She knew too damn well to know where he was off to right now.

* * *

 _ **~~~Uchiha clan compounds…**_

* * *

"Open the damn door! I swear I'm going to break it down in five seconds flat!"

Naruto tried to get to the door as fast as he possibly could in his condition. He knew that voice all too well, it was Tsunade.

An angry Tsunade.

And an angry Tsunade - was never a good Tsunade.

"That does it!" the absolutely livid kunoichi cocked her fist back, her patience having run out completely by that point. Fully intent on smashing the door right out the other sides of the estate, she let her fist go forward. When much to her surprise and horror - the door opened.

Naruto's baby blue orbs were wide in shock seeing a fist mere millimeters from his face. He could sense the soft humming chakra it had still laced on it's tip. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple while he gulped thickly.

That was a close call. A little too close for comfort.

On a good day, he would have let his instincts kick in and slap her hand away to the side while watching it come closer to his face in slow motion, courtesy of his Sharingan. But he couldn't have dodged that in his given condition. So remembering all that, he had been lucky…

When he saw her face he realized he was only lucky of sorts…

Tsunade let out a soft yelp when he pulled her in the house by her arm and closed the door in the blink of an eye. Her own eyes went wide when his palm slapped onto the wall by the side of her head and she saw Naruto lean down closer to her face.

"You came all alone huh? So early in the morning too." his voice was strange and she knew what he was trying to do. "You do realize that people might get the wrong idea if you keep this up, right?" on any other day, she would have blushed and went down into a mumbling mess in flow with his trickery.

But today wasn't any other day.

She slapped her hand over his forehead, which, just as she had expected - was burning like a stove. "I knew it, I fucking knew it." a tick mark appeared over her forehead when he let out a soft sigh. He always tried to tease and embarrass her whenever she was onto him doing something like this to work his way out of the situation .

"So it's true that you forced them to let you leave the hospital." she hissed.

He really was an idiot!

Only then did she see him sweating like crazy even in such a cool weather. On closer inspection, she could see him barely standing by the support of his palm that was by her head while his legs trembled like dry leaves.

"Oi don't stress yourself so much." she wrapped her arms around his chest to support and hug him at the same time. "Come now, let's go to bed." supporting him by pulling an arm over her shoulder, she scurried him upstairs and straight into his room.

"I'm fine…" his plead fell on deaf ears when she forcefully laid him down onto his futon and tucked him in it like a child.

"I'll go and get some ice, water and towels." she mumbled, half angry - half tiredly and he caught her wrist in a futile attempt to stop her.

"I'll do it…" was all he could say before she had pushed him down by his chest.

"You will stay in bed." her voice left no rooms for argument and he relented with an annoyed grunt, which was ignored completely by her.

"Tsunade, really…I'm alright." he tried to plead to her, she didn't have to do this.

But her patience had already thinned to the point of snapping right at that instant.

"YOU WILL STAY IN BED!" her sudden shout shocked him completely. Her own angry eyes softened seeing him looking at her in such a stunned manner and she tenderly cupped his cheek in her palm.

"Just let yourself heal." her whisper was almost pleading. And for the life of him he couldn't say no to such a sad face. Silently nodding, he laid back down while she once more tucked the blanket up to his neck and went out to go fetch the items she had picked out for him in her mind.

Naruto watched her return and said nothing while she placed a bowl full full of cold water with some floating ice cubes being placed by his side. She picked out some hand towels from his closet and sat down by his side. Dipping one into the bowl, she wrapped up a couple of ice cubes in it and placed it on his forehead.

"Why did you run out of the hospital?" she asked, and he fell silent for a moment there. How was he to tell her that the nurse had come up to him with a bill that he had hardly been able to pay with all he currently had on him. Or else he was threatened to being thrown out if he was unable to pay for their services any further. So to save himself some of his little to non existent self dignity by that point; he had left.

It was the primary reason he hated hospitals. They ate money like snacks even for a small fever. And no one ever wanted him around for any more than what was absolutely necessary.

But she didn't need to know that…

"I was bored." he lied smoothly, but she caught onto it almost instantly. She knew the reason too, as much as he could try and hide it - she would always see through him in the end.

He never could lie to her.

Picking up another towel, she went on to change it with a sad smile. "You are a terrible liar Naru." her soft whisper made him tear his eyes away from her. He hated lying to her with his very being, but he absolutely despised showing her his vulnerabilities and worrying her so much. He wasn't worth it. He never really was worth her.

"Why didn't you call for me or Baa-chan?" she asked him earnestly while placing the new towel over his forehead.

"It was unnecessary." he answered simply and she let out a soft sigh. That annoying baka was just too reckless for his own good sometimes - no almost all the time. But for the life of her, even after seeing his skin so pale and eyes so tired she couldn't, for the life of her, be angry at him.

"Have you eaten yet?" her voice was gentle and caring while she brushed away the wet locks coming over his eyes. Though her eye twitched when he looked even farther away with a small huff, one that made her feel quite stupid for asking such a ridiculous question.

Of course he hadn't.

But he could answer her out of courtesy at the very least…

"Alright alright, now stop moping - I brought you some breakfast. I'll go and heat it up… _since it did turn cold in the time it took me to find you…_ " her voice was accusing towards the end. She cocked her hip to the side and placed a palm on it, trying to copy her grandmother to a large extent but ultimately failed miserably in her endeavor. So in the end she had to relent in defeat when he didn't so much glance at her, instead finding the scenery outside his window quite prudently refreshing.

He did hear her sigh and get up and she didn't see the small smile he had while he looked back out the window once more to enjoy the scenery outside after he had eyed her walking out his room quite intently out of her eye-shot.

 _He really was glad she was here._

She came back with her steaming pot from the morning, now without it's lid. And Naruto could discern the smell of rice that hit his nostrils which made him glance at her while she sat down by his futon and pulled her legs to the left side of her thighs.

He rose an eyebrow seeing the… _contents…_ of the serving pot.

"What's this?" he couldn't help but ask, and she gave him a cheeky smile while pouring down it's steaming… _contents…_ into a serving bowl.

"It's rice porridge. I made it myself in the morning." Naruto did smile seeing her puff out her chest in pride and got up shakily by support of his elbows. She tried to hand him the bowl when he rose an eyebrow at her, much to her honest confusion. So, he decided to put an end to it hastily enough.

"I can't use my arms properly, you will have to feed me." he lied smoothly, and this time the girl didn't catch on to his deception.

The Senju heiress blushed a gentle pink hue over her cheeks and nodded dumbly. It was just so embarrassing, but what could she do? He was hurt and needed her like he had always been there for her.

It was the least she could do for him…

Naruto decided to spice up this rare chance he had gotten a bit more while smirking ever so slightly like a cunning fox. She was just way too easy to tease. "Oh and I'm sensitive to hot food, just like Kiara." the slight insinuation to his words wasn't lost to Tsunade.

Her blush turned a bright crimson and she nodded while steaming out from her head in embarrassment. Once more, there was nothing she could do so no retort came from her side, much to his happiness and her eternal chagrin.

Picking up a spoonful of the rice porridge, she blew over it softly a couple of times and placed it near his lips which he ate quite happily. She kept trying with all her might to hide her blush with her bangs almost desperately. The extent of his teasing would increase exponentially if he so much as caught a glance of her embarrassment.

She couldn't have that. Absolutely not.

"So?!" she clearly was excited. He could see it clearly when she leaned forwards while expecting some sort of review of her handmade food from his side.

"You've overcooked it, the rice has turned into a white soup of sorts." she gave him an odd look upon hearing that, almost believing that he was making fun of her. But looking at the steaming hot bowl on her lap, even she had to admit that it looked like a little…well… white goo of sorts… upon closer inspection.

No wonder her grandmother was acting a little strange in the morning she realized in all the conjured up innocence of the world…

She blew another spoonful and fed him, with which he pondered on further to scrutinize how it was that it truly tasted to him.

She didn't want to hear any more of his _critical review_ though…

"I get it, I suck at cooking. Now shut up and eat." her tone was completely irritated while she fed him another spoonful which he ate silently with an obedient nod. No point enraging her when he himself wasn't in any condition to escape her wrath if she did snap.

Tsunade meanwhile kept twisting the spoon in the bowl a couple of times, all the while she mulled on what he had just said to her no more than a moment ago.

And she really didn't want to ask, but she did at the same time…It was just so confusing to her as was evident by the lost look currently plastered on her face.

"Really…" her whisper earned a raised eyebrow from his part. "…what do you think of it. Tell me honestly, okay?" she mumbled softly while forcing another spoonful of her cooking down his throat.

It was the first time she had cooked. Her grandmother had pestered her to try her hand at it, but she had never gotten around to it after she had been told it would come in handy post marriage time. It was yucky to her at that point, she had been a child then. Even going so much as to prefer power bars over learning cooking in her younger years.

"I'm speechless." she looked up with sparkling eyes, she needed to hear more of that and then brag to everyone about her awesome cooking, especially to her grandmother…"…I never knew there was a way to completely kill the natural flavor of food." she almost fell flat on her face quite comically when he had decided to dash down her hopes almost instantly.

But she wasn't surprised by it in the slightest. That idiot always was as blunt as a hammer.

She loved and hated that side of his at the same time.

So picking up yet another spoonful of some soup, she almost lost the spoon in his throat when she pushed it forcefully into his face.

"Just shut up and eat." her stern tone halted all their conversations and all that was heard was the soft clinking of utensils and her soft blows she made to cool down the soup each time to _avoid burning his sensitive lips_.

And before Tsunade knew it, the bowl - and much to her surprise, the whole serving pot was completely empty. Keeping it to the side, she tasted a bit from what was left in it and almost winced when she realized he had been much kinder in his summarizing than what was the truth.

It was fucking horrible!

"Then why did you eat it all you idiot?" she whispered much more to herself than him, but with how silent the room was he did pick up on it out of her senses. "Plus, if you can eat all that, then I guess I shouldn't have worried so much." once more her soft mumbles were caught on by Naruto who looked out the window once more to ponder over her words.

"How can I leave leftovers?" she looked back stunned, quite surprised that he had heard her whispers. "It was the first time I've had my princess's home cooking." he earnestly answered her and she looked away, resembling a ripe tomato upon hearing his words.

He was such an idiot!

"You should get changed…" she needed to change the subject. And she needed to change it now! "You must be drenched with sweat." she whispered and forced down her blush to look back at him with a bright smile.

Then as oblivious as ever…

"Oh! Actually you can't use your hands to unbutton yourself, here let me help you…" without so much as a thought, she started undoing the buttons to his night shirt. After undoing two, she stopped and placed a palm on his chiseled and bandaged chest when her mind finally caught on to her actions while she clenched her eyes shut in agony. And when she looked up, she was half expecting to see his amused eyes and yet another tease…

Only to gaze into those blue eyes she loved so much to be a strangely intense shade of azure that made her heart flutter. It was almost as if by looking right into her own shimmering golden ones, he was boring right into her very soul. His eyes looked much more dominating and intimidating than his Sharingan ever could be to her. And upon feeling so vulnerable and nervous, she also realized the position they were in. She was sitting smack bang in between his legs, her palms rested on his chest while he was half undressed.

Well, talk about awkward…

"What the hell are you looking at me like that for?" she slapped his face gently to the side, forcing him to look out the window that he loved to do so much and continued on undoing his shirt before pulling it off his bandaged torso to save herself from any more embarrassing situations. And only then did she see his shaking shoulders while Naruto himself tried to reign in his laughs but failed miserably in doing so.

"What's so damn funny?" that was it, with her annoyed remark the dam broke and he laughed his heart out.

"You're…" he clenched his stomach when it hurt a bit, much to her annoyance and slight worry. But he continued on… "…just like those idiotic and punks we fight all the damn time in bandit camps. You get all mad whenever I make eye contact with you… and get so pissed off…" was all he could laugh out when she had picked up the pillow and started smashing him down with it. She herself couldn't reign in her laughs, and as much as she was loathe to admit it, he was pretty spot on in his comparison.

Their laughs rang in the large house while all life returned to it's silent walls with rejuvenating vigor. But a moment later, her balance slipped when he pushed the pillow she was using as a hammer to the side to save himself and she fell forward…

 _Flat on his chest._

And when she tried to get up, a pair of arms wrapped her in a bear hug and stopped her from doing so. Naruto pleasantly petted her ponytail and kissed the side of her head tenderly to halt her wriggled momentarily.

"You're so sly Nana-chama. Always seducing me like this…" she scowled at his teasing tone. But blushed at the same damn time. Scowled for the name he had given her, he had named her that when she had shown him her legendary losing streak years ago. It actually meant 'seven', which he sarcastically referred to her as his 'lucky seven' to remind and tease her for it even to this day.

No one knew of this one other than them.

 _And she intended to keep it that way until she went to her grave._

"You damn pervert, what do you mean sly?" she whined softly and it was nearly adorable how helpless she was right now due to not being able to use her incredible strength in fear of hurting him even more, for which he took full advantage of. Placing both her palms on his chest, she attempted to get up. But his hold didn't budge in the slightest.

"You're holding me down. Let go." she tried to wriggle out of his arms when he tightened his hold on her almost desperately.

It did start worry her a little…

"Thank you." his honest whisper made a fond smile flash over her lips and with a soft squeak she nodded and nuzzled her face in his neck. All intentions of trying to get up died along with it…

She could feel it in her heart that he didn't want to let her go. And not that she would admit it out loud, she'd rather prefer torture than this admission to anyone.

But she loved cuddles - especially with him. It had been that way ever since they were little and she would sleepover at his place to stay the night.

Naruto pushed off his shirt to the side and flipped the blanket up over them both. Both blondes cuddled next to each other with wide smiles just like they had done for years on end now while snuggling into comfortable little balls to enjoy their alone time.

Right there, in each others arms to keep each other warm…

Tsunade did smile fondly when he lowered his face into her chest and hid himself in her arms.

"You never need to thank me baka, I'm always here for you…" Tsunade's cooing whisper fell on deaf ears when she saw him already breathing ever so softly and pulled him closer into her chest while softly kissing his head.

Her embrace turning into a protective one to console herself that he _really_ was alright.

He had her worried sick for two days straight. But now, after seeing that he really was fine with just a fever and some weakness…she could rest easy at night.

Kiara came in and seeing her two favorite people sleeping, curled up over their blanket into a small ball and herself followed their example to have a small nap …

 _It was only an excuse, she was just plain lazy…_

* * *

 _ **~~~A** **week later…**_

* * *

Naruto strapped on his sandals and stood up. Flexing his arms, he felt as good as he ever had. Kami thank him, Mito had worked her magic over him and after a relentless healing and rehabilitation schedule - he was out and ready to go wild before anyone would have thought possible.

But he had to get back on missions soon. Savings were coming down to a new low and he was quite possibly going to have to declare complete bankruptcy to his clan if it kept up for a few more days to put his house on mortgage and loan some money off of it. He definitely didn't want to do that, the elders of the clan and the village as a whole had been eyeing his house for a while now. But they had to know that this was just not for sale. He'd be damned before he let them even touch as much as a speck of dust over his property.

But one little obstacle still stood glaring in his way;

The council.

Yup, today was the day he met those old coots to explain his side of the story. And, if at all possible, get his mission pay that was long since due since he _honestly_ could use the money…

More like he _really_ could use the money…

But all that mattered to him right now was that he was up and kicking and that thought alone made him smile. Being scooped up in a room all day, tied to a bed - it made him restless. It just wasn't him, he never liked being confined. Ever since he had been little, he enjoyed scouring out the unknown parts near the village that no one ever thought of visiting to get an even deeper view into what really made this place so special that so many shinobi gave their lives to secure it's tranquility and peace.

And now that he had been given the clean chit…

He rushed out his door swiftly - pumping chakra into the soles of his feat, he jumped up onto a roof with a joyful laugh. The wind softly rustled his golden locks that came near his adorable blue eyes ,sparkling with a hint of mischief within them. The soft smell of leaves hit his nostrils and he pumped up his lungs of his full of fresh air…

He loved this - Absolutely loved this!

This was freedom in his eyes - True freedom.

 _And like a blur, he made his way to the place he didn't know the natural predator to his fine mood rested._

 _Looking forward to squishing it l_ _ike an insignificant bug beneath its feet…_

* * *

 _ **Author Notes : There is the next chapter. I'll admit this was a recuperative chapter of sorts, but you have to admit it was indeed enjoyable. I wanted to get the council meeting over with in this one, but got carried away when I started to enjoy writing this one so damn much!**_

 _ **Well for next time, the council faces off with our hero - which brings me to yet another point. This story, unlike the other ones doesn't warrant main characters to get out of everything due to plot privileges.**_

 _ **You sow the seed, you reap the crop - as simple as that.**_

 _ **And for any of you who may have been unnerved by this, I am in no way trying to push Sakumo to being looked on as a bad guy. It's just that I try and push everyone into the limelight as much as I can (Apart from anyone I cannot stand, but usually I just pick them of my story haha). And as you all might have guessed with those who have been through other fics of mine, as long as my story stays enjoyable I tend to mix in drama, romance and spice up the action with a whole lot of adventuring plots if I really get down to it.**_

 _ **You have been warned!**_

 _ **Well,congratulations are in order I guess. Since, we've hit 150k+ words with this one. Thank you for sticking with this fic for so long for all my following readers and I thank you for all the kind reviews I got each time. They mean a lot, honest!**_

 _ **And seeing how I ma going with this story, I don't think I'll be ending of any short of 500k+ words or so. So, as I've said before…be prepared for the long haul and enjoy this story since this an adventure and romance and I'll try and fulfill on both of those parts.**_

 _ **But in the next few chapter, I really will push what my Naruto can do to the absolute limits. And new sides of his that have been hidden for everyone for too long will come out in the open along with everyone else to go into some serious character development.**_

 _ **Hmm, now onto desert flower. It's almost done, 2kish words or so and some editing and I am good to go. So update expectancy by day after tomorrow or Wednesday night at most if I don't get scooped up in college work in the next few days.**_

 _ **I do have a tendency to leave long A/N so forgive this innocent one please…**_

 _ **Like always, thank you for your time. Do leave your earnest reviews and comments in there, it only takes a couple of seconds and boosts my morale as well as the story's popularity so don't be stingy alright?**_

 _ **Hahaha…**_

 _ **Well until next time…**_

 _ **NSE singing out.**_

 _ **Ja Ne**_

 _ **;)**_


	17. Hindrances and Follies

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Konoha Hospital**

* * *

"Where did you even get this information from?"

Tobirama at this point was annoyed, no more than annoyed - he was infuriated!

"I have my ways…" tucking a lock behind her ear, Mito gave a sly smile to Tobirama who was currently glancing at her with a distrustful look. Nonetheless, the information he had in the palm of his hands did anything but to please him.

Even still, the point remained…

"Mission reports are supposed to be classified to the highest degree, I made sure of it…" his voice was steely, and the iron in it showed Mito how displeased he truly was. Whether it was from the information itself or how she had gotten said information, she would never know.

"Aren't you forgetting something important?" sitting down by his side and placing her cheek in her palm, the Uzumaki heiress gave him the most innocent look she could conjure up in the spur of the moment. Sighing tiredly, Tobirama nodded, "That I do." there were just some battles he could never win, no matter how strong or influential he got. It was just how it was…

Especially with women.

And for all that was holy, the women in his household were truly the bane of his existence.

As a matter of fact, now that he delved deeply into the matter - all of his family members, every single one of them were a pain in the ass to deal with. Seeing her innocent smile, he frowned deeply in utter annoyance.

Especially the women.

They were the biggest pain of them all.

"Mito…." he glowered down at his sister figure whose innocent looking face was presently irritating him to no ends.

"Muh Tobirama…" he gave her the chilliest look he could muster hearing that sarcastic coo.

But much to his growing ire, she patted his cheek as if he were a mere child for her, which he probably was in her eyes. "…you have much more serious things to look into." her caring voice made even his face melt down into a tired one.

In the end, as loathe as he was to admit it - she was right. He did have much to look into if the papers in his palms truly were as accurate as he hoped they were.

"What did they do to him?" flicking another page to go over the next one, his eyes roamed around the paper with ever increasing agitation. This truly was serious, a lot more serious than something he would have hoped or truly even expected a matter like this to be.

But things in the shinobi world never went as he expected them to.

Ever.

It annoyed him a lot, but it was just how he was. He was the living breathing example of something that the Kage of another village had hoped for - his death. Instead, it had led to his own untimely demise.

Quite the irony if he did say so himself.

But this…

"That reckless fool…" he muttered in irritation. "…this boy is truly going to be the death of me, one way or the other." giving him a soft smile upon hearing that, Mito stayed silent to let the man conjure up his thoughts. Eyes roaming across the file's papers expertly, he took in each and every damn word as carefully as he possibly could.

"What did they do to him?" once more he asked, this time flicking the report file to an abrupt close. Mito had the decency for reaching out her hand to take back the file she had retrieved with many hook and sinkers.

Not that Tobirama was having any of it.

Not even in the blink of an eye, the file was lit alight and burnt to a crisp in his palm before the ashes were thrown into the dustbin with a well timed wind technique to follow it up and clean his ash ridden hand at the same time.

He did quite enjoy the knitting of her eyebrows in slight irritation, it especially annoyed Mito since it had been quite a chore to get one specific file out of those heavily guarded archives.

Not to mention how many there truly were, dumped in that godforsaken warehouse of boring old reports. He didn't have to burn it, that was rude, especially since she hadn't quite read it thoroughly enough.

Oh well…

"Nothing…" the slight upward inclination of his eyebrow and the suspicious look he was casting at her did show her that he didn't quite believe her, "…really, they haven't done anything." she pressed on and it surprised him, it wasn't like them. If his assumptions were right, they should have done anything to claw off…

"Yet." she finished her sentence and realization washed over his pale skin.

"Ah…" now that answered that, "So when are they planning to do something, if I might ask?"

"In an hour or so." her simple answer troubled him to no ends.

The sands of time were working against him, and each second was precious right now. As soon as the words had flown off her lips, Mito had to catch the man's hands in her own to stop him from ripping out every damn needle poked into his bed ridden body.

"What the hell are you doing!" she hissed.

"I have to attend the meeting." his voice was stern, he absolutely wasn't willing to let this catastrophe take place. If there was one thing that Tobirama knew was absolute, it was to never push Naruto into a corner that he could not escape without a fight.

And when the boy was serious, which as rare as it was in and of itself - regardless, when he was, the whole damn situation became serious.

The boy scared _even him_ when he fought back out of a situation that most would find inescapable and let his calm demeanor drop completely. He had learned it the hard way in fact to never push him into a corner, the humongous scar on his chest was still a painful reminder of the sleeping beast that slept within the confines of that adorable boy he had nurtured with his own two hands.

"No you don't…" Mito's words broke him off his thoughts. "…you are in no condition to leave this bed, not until I say so." seeing her stubborn voice and firm eyes, Tobirama knew she wouldn't budge.

Curse those damned Uzumaki genes of hers.

But she had to know her place. This was one time he wouldn't cave in to her demands even if he had to force his way out of this room. This was one thing he wasn't going to let slide, the consequences of this volatile meeting would be nothing short of a disaster when he'd look past on it in the near future _if and when it occurred_.

 _Which it won't if he had anything to say about it…_

"Mito you don't understand the situation at hand…" he pleaded to her, actually pleaded!

If it surprised the redhead, she didn't show it, "I understand it quite well -" a firm hand clasped her wrist in a painful grip. Even after all her years training as a kunoichi, Mito had no choice but to wince ever so slightly in pain. Seeing her in so much pain Tobirama let her wrist free, albeit with slight reluctance.

Mito scooted even closer to his side when he ran a hand through his shaggy hair. Now that she saw him closely, the man was sweating!

In an air conditioned room no less!

"Tobirama…" putting extra work to make her voice as soft as possible, she rubbed his cheek tenderly while cupping it in her palm. "…what aren't you telling me?" finally asking the million ryo question, she had to force him to look into her eyes when he started averting her gaze as if she were the reincarnation of Medusa the gorgon.

"Tell me…" seeing him faltering, she knew one more gentle nudge would do it, "…please." that made him look at her deep violet eyes, and with a tired sigh his forehead fell onto her shoulder lifelessly. Running her fingers through his shaggy hair, Mito gave him some time to collect himself before he told her everything. She could get anything out of him if she willed it so, but never before had she pressed him on a matter he didn't want to divulge of his own accord. Everyone had their secrets - some more so than the others, but this was different.

This was directly linked to one of her children, and so, she wasn't reluctant to milk it out of him even if she had to drug him to make him speak his mind freely and _truthfully_.

"Mito, Naruto has a high tolerance to deal with things thrown against him, more so than anyone I've ever had the pleasure of knowing…" Mito knew that, which other boy went through the daily abuse that he did without ever even glancing at someone the wrong way. "…but there are boundaries." he said, and it snapped her attention to him, "He is still a small boy Mito, no matter how calm and peaceful he may appear on the outside - on the inside, he is always at turmoil." she didn't show it, but she truly was shocked. Letting her fingernails scratch his scalp soothingly, she let him pour out all that he was hiding from her.

But one question remained nagging her - how had she not seen it?

The boy truly had done a marvelous job to hide these things from her, if what Tobirama was saying was, in fact, actually true.

"Trust me on this one Mito…" the woman did pay full attention to him, "If I've learned one thing over the years I've seen him grow - it's to never push Naruto to where he doesn't want to go. He takes after his grandfather way too much in those regards." her whole body stiffened hearing that. The 'Ghost of the Uchiha' was as much of a menace on the battlefield as he was off of it, there were tales pertaining to the legendary shinobi where he had outright snapped people's necks if someone were to push him over the edge on his evening strolls.

And unlike Naruto, who had a really high boiling point if she had 'never' seen him go over the edge…Madara had been much, much more volatile. It did ease her worries a bit, worries that shouldn't have been there in the first place.

But still…

"Surely you're over exaggerating Tobirama…" she said, a small hesitant laugh escaping her lips involuntarily. "I mean how can my adorable little thing be so-" she said, before stopping abruptly seeing his eyes looking at her furiously.

Tobirama, due to his ever stoic nature, didn't show it but he was seething on the inside. To think she was taking this as a joke, the woman actually had the gall to laugh at his warning!

"You think of this as some sort of joke?" he hissed, she blinked hearing him so angry. Mito clearly hadn't meant it, not that Tobirama was in any mood for her excuses. "Remember this?" slapping her hand over his chest, rubbing it forcefully over a spot where she could feel the uneven bulges; Mito nodded.

She did remember that. It was one of Tobirama's worst injuries to date, she herself had treated approximately five years ago. Not even his last battle's scars were anything to the condition he had walked in that day.

The Uzumaki heiress had almost suffered cardiac arrest seeing the ever strong Tobirama, scorched like a burnt coal, walking in her house, bleeding to death!

The man had a gaping hole scissoring right through his left lung. But that had been merely a training accident from what she remembered, a new forbidden technique that had backfired. What did it have to do with;

"This was my mark from Naruto."

His words cut her heart like a knife, splitting it in two. Violet eyes turning wide, she jarred at him in shock, "T-That can't b-be…" whispering more so to herself, her mind couldn't fathom it. "H-He was only eight then, and even if he could Naruto would never attack you-"

"That…" interrupting her in half, in a moment of surprise Tobirama laughed, "is where you're wrong Mito." he chuckled, seeing her in such a messed state he couldn't help but laugh.

Laughing at her misery, had he fallen so low? But seeing the ever regal and uncaring heiress so bewildered, it just wasn't possible to stay calm.

"There is only one…" Mito's eyes followed his finger swinging, each stroke it made left and right in a scolding manner made her heart race, "one person in this whole world who Naruto won't attack, even if she pushes him way too far. He just won't, that is his limit." he told her in a knowing tone.

Everything clicked in Mito's mind, she could guess who it was. She knew the boy like the back of her hand, there was only one person who Naruto looked at with such adoration that it almost made her almost envy it. If only ever so slightly…

"Tsunade…" his finger poked her nose with an informed nod, and she sat; just sat. The grandmother of two still couldn't fathom his words from prior, Naruto would never raise a hand against her - or would he?!

"But why her?" her question wasn't lost to Tobirama, he knew she'd ask that. "He loves me, hell he loves you! There's just no way." she argued fiercely. The way she said it did appall him a bit, not the referral to Tsunade part; but the 'hell he loves you part'.

What the hell was he - unlovable or something?

Surely not.

As if.

 _Maybe…_

Seeing her eyes looking at him for an answer he shook his head off idle thoughts, "This isn't the time for that Mito…" he said. Realization washed over her face like glacial waters, her stomach coiling like a snake.

The Meeting!

Throwing his comforters aside, "That's why I have to go-" he urged.

She cut him off with a snarl, "No, absolutely not!" Mito hissed.

Her shout did surprise him, hadn't he made his point clear enough, "I'll go." she told him. Raising a slender eyebrow, he hummed in thought. What she said did have merit, the woman did know how to manipulate people if she could manipulate even him, "Are you sure you'll handle it efficiently?" he asked.

Looking at him as if he had somehow scandalized her, Mito's eyebrow's knitted together in utter irritation, "Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" raising his hands up in defeat, he knew he had crossed an unspoken boundary. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, "I was the one who fine tuned you in the art of diplomatic affairs Tobirama, you better learn your place." her finger tapped his forehead intimidatingly before the woman was up and about to head over to the meeting chambers.

Tobirama sat in silence, there was absolutely nothing to say. She could handle it;

Ripping off the needles from his arms and chest he stood up to put on a casual shirt, it didn't mean he shouldn't see the show after all.

Being safer than sorry was always the way to go. And this, oh this;

It would certainly be amusing to say the least.

* * *

 _ **~~~Meanwhile…**_

* * *

 **Hatake Households**

* * *

"I've heard of the accomplishment you and your team achieved during your last mission.." the voice of the speaker was gruff, almost to the point of sounding strict; as if he was born with it. The man who had said it, in question, was a diligently tall man. His body buff enough to make most, if not all men a bit nervous just by standing in the cover of his shadow. Eyes a rare shade of brown, lacking so much as a hint of emotion in their recesses drilled into the person he had currently engaged in a conversation.

A conversation that one could dare argue for a confrontation.

But it was just an opinion, nothing concrete.

"Yes, Father." the polite response was dutiful, sounding almost strained and forced to anyone else but the man whom it had been addressed to, "Your teammate ran in to help while you stayed behind, correct me if I am wrong." he asked, and once more there wasn't any warmth in the man's voice, or any sense of doubt for that matter.

Clearly he knew that he wasn't wrong, it was just an intimidation tactic being imposed on the opposing party he was conversing with to get his point across.

"No, you're right father." as brief and curt as he could be, Sakumo inclined his head down as a sign of respect. The man in front of him, recognized now as his father, crossed his arms over his chest while silence mulled over the darkly lit room for a few tense moments. The candles around the room, the only current source of light in these barely lit chambers, flickered each passing second while the large man's eyes almost tried to burn a hole down the boy sitting formally on his knees; right in front of him.

A small, almost non existent twitch of the lips flashed on the man's lips - the man being Masumoto Hatake; the Tranquil Assassin of the Leaf and the current head of the Hatake family. Putting his large hand on top of Sakumo's head, he playfully ruffled his child's hair in a rare but pleasant show of emotion. Sakumo himself sat surprised at the sudden change of mood in his father's heart.

Not that he was complaining, he felt like he was almost going to burst out a joyful smile when he heard the next words that came out of his father's mouth.

"I'm proud of you." it was the first time his father had praised him, and Sakumo couldn't help but look down to hide the embarrassed smile that broke out on his face.

Giving a meek nod, he rubbed his legs together in nervousness.

This was definitely new, but he liked this.

A lot.

"You remembered everything I taught you…" Masumoto continued on his praise. "…never engage an opponent of whom you know nothing about; and never fight any opponent you know you can't defeat. Those are the laws I trained you with." it didn't sound like praise to anyone, but for Sakumo, who had rarely ever heard his father speak more than a sentence than what was absolutely necessary, it meant the world to him.

"Live by these rules my son, for the way of the assassin is to blend in the shadows until you know that your opponent is dead even before you make a move." determination flashed in

Sakumo's eyes and he nodded joyfully.

"Hai!" pulling back his hand, Masumoto crossed his arms again and delved deep into thought. There was still one thing that was bothering him, a little too much for his liking…

"Your teammate…" looking up, Sakumo tilted his head in confusion. "…Naruto Uchiha, he was the one who rushed in, correct?" giving a timid nod, Sakumo squirmed slightly when his father narrowed his eyes on him. The piercing gaze was as intimidating to him as was a tiger's for his fallen prey's.

"Stay away from him. He's trouble…" Sakumo almost spoke up to protest on instincts alone, but his father raised his hand to shut him up with a subtle shake of his head. "…he's reckless." Sakumo bit his lip nervously. His father was right, Naruto was indeed reckless when it came to making tough decisions.

"His kind, the kind who live and breathe through the moment like mavericks die an early death thinking they can take on the world on ideals alone. I don't want him influencing you to do something reckless and bringing shame to me. His reputation already isn't the best and his actions don't help it any, I've spoken Sakumo, you will abide." Sakumo nodded halfheartedly. However reckless he may be, Naruto was still his trusted comrade. But more so than that he was his rival; he was a friend.

His best friend.

Seeing his face face not holding the firmness that it should in his nod, Masumoto decided to emphasize his point a bit more, "You WILL stay away from HIM. AM I CLEAR?" he commanded. The way he had said it, left no room for arguments. His father had never liked Naruto in the first place, but had never invaded his personal life seeing he was progressing as per the man's expectations each-day everyday.

But today was an exception.

"Yes, Father." Sakumo answered in defeat. Looking for any signs of lies, Masumoto gauged his son for a minute with critical eyes, but upon finding nothing but truth in his words, he nodded curtly, "Good. Now it's time for your training. Go and train with your sword, I'll be with you shortly." he said. Getting up, Masumoto left the room without even so much as glancing back at his son. Sakumo sat there, his eyes as troubled as they could be. But right before leaving, Masumoto decided to speak from the other side of the door.

"Friends are hindrances to a shinobi Sakumo, remember that. Do not get attached, friends will betray you when it truly matters; and you must be ready to betray them too if need be. Emotions will make you hesitant. Remember, the only things that matter in an assassins life are objectives and survival..." Sakumo clenched his fists tightly, flashes of memories from his last mission and all the time he had spent with his friends brimming up in his mind.

Turning around and leveling a glare,"What truly matters Sakumo? Tell me." asked Masumoto. The question came in a strict voice that absolutely demanded an answer, and not too keen on incurring his father's wrath Sakumo answered as diligently as he possibly could, "Objectives and survival father. Everything else is just a hindrance to our way of the shinobi." he answered dutifully. Watching his father's shadow walk away from the door, Sakumo sat back down with a tired plop.

 _He didn't feel like training too much today to be honest…_

* * *

 **Hokage Tower**

* * *

 **Council Chambers…**

* * *

"Naruto Uchiha is here as per his appointment." the sudden announcement caused all work around the U-shaped table to halt temporarily. All eyes turned up to the chunin who had been the cause of said interruption in the first place.

And he was getting quite nervous seeing all these councilmen stare at him so coldly.

"Shall…" he gulped for a second to calm his nerves down. "…I send him in?" his voice came out much more meeker than thought possible, and got a stiff nod from them all. Sighing in relief, he scurried away from the deadly silent room like a panic-stricken hare.

 _He, for one, definitely didn't want to be in front of them right now…_

The whole council sat silent as a rock, each of them pondering over the same damn thing at the same damn time.

All except one.

Quite frankly, most, if not all of them were looking forward to this day. A chance to corner the outcast in their web of words, poke all his buttons and enact severe punishment over him with no fears of impending doom from anyone above their pay grade.

They were 'the power' in the village right now, to pass on such a golden chance that had presented itself to them on a metaphorical silver platter certainly wasn't in the works. Everything was in their favor, well everything except one thing;

Stifling a soft yawn in her palm, Mito tucked a small lock of hair behind her ear. Crossing her slender thigh over the other, she placed her elbow on the table and used her free palm to plop down her cheek on it. Her eyes remained locked on the open doors to the chambers in slight anticipation. She was bored beyond belief…

Her presence had been a surprise, not even the most thoughtful of them had guessed that she of all people would be the first one to show herself here this fine morning.

But she had.

And that caused a plethora of problems for every single one of them.

No one was foolish enough to think she was here to indulge herself in the pleasure they all were blessed with, a pleasure the world dictionary called 'paperwork'.

No, certainly not.

She was here just for this moment.

And every - fucking - one of them knew that.

It was no secret to the villagers that she was close to the boy. She had never officially taken him on as an apprentice or anything close of that sort, but the close relationship the village pariah and the first lady of the Leaf shared was known by one and all within the walls of this village. But her presence alone made this situation much more complicated than the simple one sided cornering assembly they had wordlessly planned on holding their charge with beforehand.

The main problem being the woman herself. She was a master in political matters; her expertise going so far as to her being the primary adviser to both the Hokages in dire times. And her reputation didn't just stop there. Everyone - them included - respected her quite highly. Not only due to her heritage and noble blood, well that was a major part nonetheless, but not the sole reason. Her accomplishments could be regarded as one of the most any shinobi had ever achieved in pushing the newly budding major village to thrive towards even greater heights of prosperity.

Her sealing skill being the first.

She was the top tier seal master they currently possessed, Tobirama Senju - the Hokage for crying out loud did not hold so much as a candle to her if it came down to the small yet revered arts that were the seals. She had been the primary hand, the first one who had devised that the village needed protection which seals could establish like no other means could ever hope to achieve.

Designing, constructing, even so far as to putting the finishing touches on the barrier - the same one that they still used - was done under the critical eyes of this woman herself. Even now, after so many decades of it being functional no one had found a point that could be called it's weakness. And more so, there were still many times she was consulted when it came time for maintenance of the main array of the great matrix they used.

It's primary matrix was still so intricate, that many seal masters of their own village had failed to even comprehend the basic and smaller segments of the barrier; let alone tinker with the primary matrix that held it all together. The sealing corps of the village looked up to her as a goddess of sorts, even when she didn't so much as visit them until it was absolutely necessary.

She wasn't revered as the Sealing Mistress in the Bingo books for no reason, after all.

That wasn't to say she was the unofficial heiress to the entire fortunes lying within the Land of Whirlpools and had inherited the family fortunes after the death of her husband as his direct nominee, the rights granted to her by her being his legal wife. Shinobi rules were quite different for nominees; since so many shinobi never married instead pertained to being faithful to a single lover but never being tied down in holy matrimony so as to avoid their enemies targeting their families out from their eyes.

Thus, most of the times the village leader decided whether to declare it down to the nominee or their spouse, absolve it into the village's treasury or part it two ways and give the split parts to both sides according to the percentages the Kage deems it to be right for the welfare of the entire village as a whole. These rules were null and void if the demised soul had left a will behind him before his death, and then only the rules laid down by him were officially acceptable; and nothing else.

These laws were concretely laid down by Tobirama himself to avoid internal clan conflicts of the numerous clans that were quite prominent before the formation of the organization, the organization that the world now looked up to as the Hidden Leaf. He had laid down that fear to rest altogether by taking matters into his own hands, and the law had been passed and accepted by each clan equally as a sign of trust they were handing over to their new leader - all done back in the early years of Konoha.

That brought us back to the point that even though she was only acting as a diplomatic clan head in the council; Mito's power and influence in these chambers was still immense. And with Tobirama out of the picture, she was the substitute clan head for the Senju clan as well. She could rumble up whole nations with just a simple signature if she so needed to with just a small flick of some ink and paper and that in itself did not bode well for anyone who dared cross her; or anyone she cared about that is.

But they still had the upper hand here.

For, Naruto was the one who had placed himself under heavy scrutiny by rushing out of mission parameters and making rash decisions by himself. He would be punished, that was for sure. But to what extent, only time would tell. Though it would be quite lenient than what they had planned, that fact was intangible.

The silent tension was broken like a pin-prick when the doors to the sacred chambers screeched themselves ajar, the long shadow of today's guest of honor shortened in as the crown of golden and orbs of blue finally flickered to light and just to melt her heart, seeing the most beloved lady of his life seating oh-so gracefully in her chair;

Naruto gave her a charming smile that was mirrored adoringly on her own lips.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes : Realizing this chapter is short, about half length than my standard for this story, I apologize in advance since time has been scarce and far in between for me these days. I tried as much as I could to get it done in a night and this was all I could manage.**_

 _ **I wanted to get the meeting done and over with in this chapter itself, but honestly this felt like a nice point to end this chapter with the things I love most - teasing cliffy's.**_

 _ **For all those who PM'ed me but I couldn't reply, sorry but messages are too much and I don't do half-assed copy paste replies to my fans either; that is not fair to you guys. So for some of the most frequent subjects I came across with;**_

 _ **My update schedule - I don't have one. I can update once a month or even twice a day; I've done that in the past trust me. Depends on my life's free time. So that's that.**_

 _ **Update to my other stories - I'll try as fast as I can, maybe I'll get the meeting in this story done within the week and start the next mission and major relation building arc for Naruto and Tsunade done and over with within the next couple of chapters.**_

 _ **Now I guess that's enough banter, for all my old loyalists; you know the drill don't you?**_

 _ **Keep reading and reviewing and stay awesome**_ _ **!**_

 _ **Ja ne ;)**_

* * *

 _ **PS : Love you guys for giving me such wide appeal on this site, Mwah…**_ _ **!**_


	18. Reptilian Assault

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles**

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Hokage Tower**

* * *

 **Council Chambers**

* * *

Standing at the anterior to all troubles of his life, Naruto all but ignored the icy stares being leveled on him. He was used to them by now anyways, and focused all his attention on gazing at the redheaded woman seated in front of him. Their intense stare-down lasted a moment too long, azure eyes boring into those deep pools of amethyst with an adoration only a child gazing at his mother could ever hope for.

"Uhum…"

Blinking numbly, both snapped their necks aside to see all councilmen looking at Mito expectantly. She did have the decency to flush in embarrassment and reciprocate her child's polite nod with one of her own. That was all they saw before her loving visage all but vanished, leaving behind only a stoic countenance that betrayed not a single emotion inside her heart.

"Naruto-san." greeted a new voice.

Nodding, "Ensui-san." Naruto greeted back.

Centering all his attention over the man, Naruto stared at the Nara clan head with an unwitting look; a look that screamed innocence. Being the smartest of the bunch, Ensui inwardly gave props to the boy for holding himself in a manner that would have suited a trial before, and all this was even before knowing what he was called here for in the first place.

He was already pleading innocence, smart little child that.

Sighing lazily, "We have received some troubling reports from your squad…" the man started.

Nodding once more, Naruto had a fair idea as to where this was heading, "Then am I wrong in assuming that this troubling matter has something specifically to do with my actions, seeing none of my squad mates are present here?" he asked. "Quite an astute statement you gave there, I must say. Regardless, you are on point." commended Ensui.

"To be blunt," started Akio Inuzuka, effectively cutting off Ensui's interjection in half. Naruto's slender eyebrow shot upwards seeing a displeased scowl flash on the Nara's face before it was quickly hidden, all done in a split second. Some other person might have missed it, but his clan wasn't known as the sharpest of eyes in the Elemental Nations for nothing. But deciding not to dwell too much on it, he kept it in the back of his mind for now, "Many, if not all of us, believe your actions to be unbecoming of a ninja who wears the Leaf headband." he reasoned diplomatically. Though the underlying threat wasn't lost at all to the blonde boy, who had half expected it actually.

Inhaling a deep breath, "I see." Naruto rebutted.

"Whatever it is you say-" Akio blinked as the blonde's words struck him, "…wait what?" he bespoke, clearly not understanding Naruto's humble stance. Blue eyes took in everything in front of him with a sincere look.

This was no trial, it was an enforcement.

"It doesn't matter what I say at the end of this trial, does it?" Naruto retorted icily, catching those unintended flinches all across the room with his frigid blues, "So let's end this farce of a trial and hear it, let's save ourselves the time." he finished mirthfully. That was all he could say before the entire room erupted in a rage induced shout fest. Curses and obscenities were flung his way with no shame or regard for appearances whatsoever.

Naruto, disregarding each and every one of those shinobi; if they could even be called that after having been benched for half their lives in this dank looking room, focused his eyes on the only person that currently intrigued him. Mito, had her face hidden in her hands out of sheer trite, and for a moment, just for a moment, he felt guilty for putting her through all this.

But frankly, by this point, he was beyond done with these coots of the council. To think they had taken his elated and jubilant demeanor and managed to turn it upside down in a few minutes, he had to give them props, but that was all he had to give.

There would certainly be no politeness; at least not from him.

Breaking his gaze away from the crown of crimson, his slant eyebrow raised in utter amusement seeing them shouting and reaching out of their tables to catch a hold of him. It was quite comical, so he did the only thing he could;

He laughed.

Loudly and shamelessly.

That was, quite frankly, the wrong thing to do given the sound levels increased twofold after that. But Naruto being Naruto, just couldn't help it. He clutched his stomach and rolled over in mirthful pain, it was beyond hysterical.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!"

His laughs and their shouts ceasing, Naruto was quite interested at seeing the seething Inuzuka clan head who looked ready to, quite literally, murder him, "How dare you mock us?!" he roared, "Do you have any idea what we can do to you, you accursed child?" fangs bared, his nails scraped the timber of his table like a beast.

Splinters rose, and any lesser genin might have been intimidated. But Naruto was far from being normal, "Like what?" he mocked, further enticing the riled up man. "Cut my pay from the previous mission, or from the next one too?" he snarled right back.

Silence.

Jaws dropped all across the floor, a pin could have pricked the thick tension settled between the two men on the floor. Mito, beyond shocked, could do no more than stare numbly at the completely different visage of the boy she held as her heart for dear life. Never was he the one for initiating violence, and even from here she could tell he was doing all this just from being tired.

Smirking upon seeing his mouth opening and closing wordlessly,"Cat caught your tongue, mutt?" he taunted a little more.

That sealed her worries, he wasn't thinking straight.

Tired was he from their stereotypes, sneaky whispers and double plays. Akio though was beyond angry. To think a mere genin was talking back to him, even more blasphemous, he was successfully mocking him!

"Man, he's as troublesome as the rest of them; the Uchiha I mean. You are of their blood descent alright." Ensui commented tiredly.

Akio stared dumbly, appalled at his colleague's words, "Ensui, what-" he debated heatedly. But that was all he could say before,

"What's that supposed to mean?"

It was almost a hiss, the low whisper could have melted ice with it's intensity. Ensui gave the young lad a pitying look seeing his unbridled hostility. It was only natural after all, "Relax kid. Not all of us are trying to pick a bone with you." ignoring the mock gasp of the Inuzuka clan head at Ensui's crafty side-tone for his colleague and his smart little pun on bones, he continued on, "Though, I am curious. Why do you keep us in such low regards?" he asked, honestly curious.

From what he had gathered on the boy through word of mouth, he was actually painfully polite to everyone; even to his enemies. But to them, he had been anything but polite, instead he looked ready to bite back, if need be.

"You disgust me."

Silencing the table from another uproar, Ensui waved his hand as a motion for him to go on. He could see the boy wasn't done yet, "Every damn one of you have the power to do something, to change something. To-to, I don't know, make a difference." Naruto whispered, his features suddenly downtrodden.

A spark of hope flashed in the Nara's eyes, "But all you guys do is sit behind that damn table, mouth your hearts out and take notes for all the shit you pull on either the clients; or your own subordinate charges. That is why I loathe the very being of diplomatic ninjas like you. Ninjas who have the peace of mind akin to that of cattle." he answered blithely. Ensui opened his mouth to interject, but Naruto was far from done.

"To me, you have less worth than livestock."

And with that statement, Ensui clamped his lips shut. Seeing the boy eye all of them in utter disdain, and knowing how heart-felt, how stubborn the members of his clan were - he knew words won't change that mindset.

Not easily, at least.

Deciding to take a peaceful approach, "Those are some rather harsh words, you must have seen something truly disastrous to have come to think of us at such a low degree, no?" he asked in a vain attempt to steer the conversation to a bit more peaceful side. Not like Naruto was having any of it, "Just go and look at the back alleys of our bustling streets, times of peace may have blinded your senses; mine are still intact. Orphanages are overflowing with children lucky enough to make it there, rest live in starvation or under whatever roof their parents may have left them while the rest die on streets. I've seen them all, so don't bother interjecting. War orphans, whose parents died protecting our oh-so honorable walls, all they got was a name scribbled down on some stupid stone, while you and your children", he pointed a finger at the rather lavish looking desert and tea at each of their desks. It was self explanatory honestly, "Right now, you all have supreme power over all our authorities but - you get the gist." Naruto finished nonchalantly.

"I see."

Silence befell the two, both eyeing each other in a new found light. Ensui clearly hadn't thought for a boy of thirteen to be so deeply ingrained into his psyche, while Naruto's eyes shone with respect for his debater on a completely different reason. He was the first to have clearly listened to all his accusations while need not bothering to argue with them. Instead, his eyes looked to be calculating something.

He respected a man of reason.

"Uhum." Mito coughed.

The tension broke, both men tearing their gazes away to see Mito staring at Naruto with a sad face. Naruto looked away in shame, not able to hold her eyes for even a second. Maybe he had spoken a bit too much…

"For the matter of your punishment," argued another councilmen, "You must pay reparations to the village for putting your comrades in the way of harm; possibly even death." he stated dryly.

Scratch that, his words were right on point.

Naruto would have argued that a shinobi always held their lives at stake whenever they took on a mission, be it any rank or difficulty, but decided otherwise.

It was pointless.

"How do you expect me to pay for anything?" he asked, eyeing him as if he were stupid, "In case you've forgotten, let me remind you that I live on whatever little chump change I make from my missions while you keep cutting down my pays here and there for whatever reasons." most of them had to bite back a wince at that venomous reply, "I am an orphan myself who doesn't own anything of value other than-"

Realization washed on Naruto's face, dread coiled in his heart like a snake. Smirking evilly, "Your properties. You are a legal adult, remember?." Akio bit off midway through his talk. Naruto was done talking anyways;

It was time for making a stand.

Eyes narrowing dangerously thin, "…come again?" Naruto asked - No, dared him to answer.

"I said your house, that property may suffice as payment to the village."

Mito shuddered, an aura of indifference settled around the blonde. To make matters worse, she had seen that look before, decades ago. In 'that' man's eyes - the look that was ten times worse than anyone's pure killing intent.

It was an intent of intimidation.

She hadn't seen that look for a long time, but now that her memory had been refreshed; it was still as worst as she remembered it to be. Looking aside, she couldn't help but pity those frozen fools who had pushed him to go that far. Knowing not how he knew of that skill, she thinned her lips when Naruto started taking simple steps to the Inuzuka clan head.

Her fingers flicked in a small little slip of paper in her palms, if push came to shove, she would stop him before his instincts dug him an even deeper hole than he already had pushed himself in.

Each step felt like a year for the man being approached, it felt as if the apparition of 'that' demon was walking down to him. Pupils dilating, he sat back in his chair as his knees gave way and soundlessly watched the young boy approach him.

Naruto stopped at his desk and soundlessly placed his palms on the table. Leaning his lips closer to the ear, "Mutt." he whispered out of everyone's earshot. Akio gulped thickly, sweat trickled down his nose and a droplet converged on it's tip. The tension in the room was almost palpable, and to make matters worse - Naruto's hot breath was tickling his ears like steam, "Do you know why the Uchiha clan is known by all?" he asked again, coiling his finger around the tooth necklace the man had worn around his neck.

Naruto smirked seeing his fearful eyes, an act that caused the man's stiff body to innately begin hyperventilation, **"…and feared by all?"** he spoke quietly.

"Enough!"

Blinking out of his daze, Naruto looked aside to see the source of that annoying interruption only to repulse in fright at the furious glare being leveled at him, courtesy of those renowned amethyst orbs. "Come here." commanded Mito.

Like a kicked puppy of sorts, Naruto walked towards her table with a bowed head. Mito stood stiffly, her hip cocked aside while her arms were crossed beneath her ample bosoms. Her eyes shone with a nervousness she hadn't felt in a long time now, "I wasn't expecting that." she murmured quietly.

"I know."

Appreciating his apologetic stance, Mito cupped his cheek and placed a tight kiss on his forehead. Much too tight for being comforting, "Go home." she whispered and subtly slid in a small little object in his hip pouch out of anyone's notice.

No one even dared to argue her decision, many even breathed in relief at that;

"Demons, the lot of them." stammered a shaken Inuzuka. He tried to muster up a glare with all the remaining ego he had as an alpha male. But in the end, he couldn't match Narutos slitted, side eyed look he was leveled with while the boy in question walked out of the chambers with the ferocity of a prowling tiger.

In that moment Akio realized, he wasn't the only alpha around here.

No one heard the soundless footsteps of impending doom close in from behind them; stoic amber eyes watched the small Uchiha crest on Naruto's jacket with a withering look while the gears in his mind turned. Running a hand through his shaggy white hair, it was high time the council was reminded who the top dog was around here.

"I see my absence has made this place a lot more entertaining, no?"

Tobirama Senju had a class of buffoons to teach, and preach he will.

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Shopping districts**

* * *

Trudging along, Naruto's crimson eyes memorized each and every word of the scroll Mito had slipped into his hip pouch ever so subtly. It was quite disheartening for him to digest that she could still get one over him without so much as trying, but it was how it was. Though the last thing he had expected from her was this;

A mission.

"Naruto!"

Sighing, he rolled up the scroll and slid it back into his pocket. His ears could discern that voice in unconsciousness, it was just that recognizable. He turned around and sure enough, a crown of sandy gold hair toppled down to a dusty stop by his side. "You left me at home." pouted Tsunade.

Shrugging helplessly, "You were sleeping." he argued.

Frowning and puffing her cheeks up, "Well, you could have woken me up." she retorted right back. Both walked along the streets in silence after that, taking their time to enjoy the serenity that came with these early morning strolls.

Well, only Naruto looked to be calm since Tsunade was hopping on her heels with an overflowing energy from the nice sleep she got last night. "Uh, you got the scroll too I guess." she mumbled awkwardly.

Surprised, "Yeah, I did." he nodded.

Eyeing him curiously, Tsunade held her hands behind her hips and whistled ever so innocently, "So…" she drawled dramatically.

"We're going together I guess…"

"YUSSS!" cheered Tsunade, pumping her fist high in the air. Flushing in embarrassment when she saw people - Naruto included - eyeing her in amusement, she pulled it back. "WHAT?!" she snapped at him.

Everyone went back to their businesses while biting back a chuckle, "Nothing." Naruto shook his head and placed a poke on her forehead. She shot him a dirty look, clearly not pleased how he was making fun of her happiness.

It wasn't everyday she went on a mission with him, after all.

"Whatever." she huffed and looked away. Her body started squirming when a finger started ticklishly poking her waist, "Are you sulking or something?" asked Naruto.

"No." whined Tsunade and slapped his hand aside, "…and stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"That."

"Huh?"

Groaning, "Uff. You're impossible, you know that right?" she whined.

Naruto eyed her innocently and took a page from his dear friend's tricks, "You say something, Tsunade?" he asked, feigning all the innocence in the world. She bristled in anger and started the mantra of clenching and unclenching her fists.

It wouldn't be nice if she punched him through a wall, well maybe it would.

Inhaling a sharp calming breath, "I'm hungry." she mumbled childishly.

Smiling, Naruto tucked a stray lock behind her ear, "Dumplings?" he asked. Tsunade herself mirrored his smile realizing the true intent behind his words, her anger lay all but forgotten. Never did they eat dumplings whenever he asked her that, she hated dumplings with a passion. It was just a code word for them to take something to eat and go hide in the middle of nowhere for an all day picnic whenever one of them was feeling down for some reason, it was a little code of sorts. Moreover, she could see the lingering trouble twinkling in his eyes.

So clasping his hand in her own, "Dumplings it is!" she grinned and started pulling him ahead with a laugh. Whisking their way through the busy streets, both blondes were grinning like idiots;

Their laughs could have lit entire cities for weeks.

* * *

 **Konohagakure no sato**

* * *

 **Village Outskirts**

* * *

Munching on her snack, her tingling taste-buds eliciting involuntary squeals of delight every now and then, "What's eating up on you?" she asked distractedly.

"Nothing."

Snapping out of her food induced coma, she looked at the barely touched meatloaf in his hands with a worried gaze. Idly cupping his cheek to force his gaze on her, "Tell me." she added a little tenderness in her voice. Eyeing her with troubled eyes, Naruto deliberated in his mind on what 'not' to tell her.

"Don't you trust me?"

Blinking, "Of course I do." he retorted instantly, "…don't be stupid." he said in a matter of fact tone.

"Then tell me."

Worries melting, he draped his arms around her neck like a gorilla of sorts and pushed all his weight onto her, "Oi, be careful you idiot!" she chastised him hesitantly. The wind blowing from beneath her feet did anything but let her goosebumps melt down. Let her be the judge that no matter how great a shinobi you were, sitting dangling legged on the edge of a ravine was awfully terrifying.

It was a fact.

Though the surplus weight draping all over her toppled her down on her back, Naruto now pressed flushed against her front. She didn't mind it one bit to be honest, "It was the meeting, wasn't it?" she muttered. His drawled exhale on her neck was more than enough to answer her question, she sighed. Clicking her teeth in annoyance, "Idiots, the lot of them I tell you." she murmured.

Naruto chuckled at her blunt and harsh tongue, "You are such a mouthful Tsunade." he said jokingly.

Brushing away the humor, "They don't know you, Naruto." she whispered.

Hoisting his body up on his elbows, each resting either side of her waist, Naruto tilted his head aside, "…and you do?" he asked, honestly curious.

Giggling adorably, "Of course I do." she chortled, "I know you better than anyone, idiot." she stated, pride evident in her voice. Naruto huffed, acting hurt from her words and rolled over on his back, "As if." he taunted.

Whatever he had expected, he certainly hadn't expected her to roll over him so she was using his stomach as a seating cushion. His eyebrow tipped upwards seeing her intense glare, "I do." she said, steel edging her voice.

He knew she did.

Sighing in defeat, "Yeah, I guess you do." that earned him a flash of one of her brilliant smiles. Lying her chin down on his chest, she started paddling her legs back and forth like a duck, "You excited about the next mission?" she questioned gleefully. Humming in thought, "I guess." he muttered.

His sneaky comment earned him a soft slap to the nose, "Don't be such a wise ass. You'll love it, the island's really cool you know." she squealed.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You've been there once, haven't you?"

"Yup"

Shrugging, "Meh. I like the lands better. Ocean's aren't my thing, I guess." he stated offhandedly.

Pouting, "It'll be like a trip! We'll go swimming and gambling and all that good stuff…" she grinned cheekily and tried to persuade him. Poking the tip of her nose pointedly, "Nana, it's a mission - not a field trip." he reminded her wisely.

She slapped his finger away with a frown, "Oh come on, what's wrong with living a little every now and then?" he had nothing to argue against that. Leave it to Tsunade to turn a serious mission into a field trip of sorts, she was the epitome of distractions when it came to entertaining herself with something.

Then there was the matter of the remaining time they had.

"Wanna laze around?"

Snuggling her face into his neck, Naruto wordlessly wrapped his arms around her waist and let himself become her mattress for the remainder of the day.

Needless to say, by the time it was dusk, his back would be sore as hell.

* * *

 **Next Morning**

* * *

 **Hokage Tower**

* * *

 **Council Chambers**

* * *

Walking in, hands tucked in pockets and a slothful expression gracing his face, Naruto trudged into the chambers in a lazy stride. Disregarding the icy stares being leveled over him, he yawned, which for some reason made their glares turn murderous.

What had he done to offend them so much this early in the morning?

Surely nothing much.

Scratching his head while shaking off the cobwebs in his head, he looked aside, only to blink in surprise at the twinkling black eyes staring back at him.

"Jiraiya?!"

Grinning like an idiot, "Yo!" the boy greeted back.

"Let me guess, you were summoned too?" Naruto stated dryly.

Nodding sagely and crossing his arms underneath his chest, "Yeah, they called both our teams." he replied.

That answered that. The blonde had been petrified to hear the abrupt knocking on his front door at the break of dawn. Let's just say whenever he opened his door that early in the morning, bad things happened.

Very bad things, youthfully bad things.

But that had been hardly the case this time. It had been a messenger hawk pecking away at his door with a small message tied on it's claw, 'Report to the missions desk at the earliest, matter of urgent importance', it had read. So strapping on all his gear, slinging over his signature lacquer blade on his back and letting his little ball of fur snuggle on the back of his high collared jacket, here he was, early as all hell.

To be frank he felt quite stupid to be here so early, not to mention his senses were still dulled due to being sleepy. He certainly wasn't a morning person, that was for sure. Hearing the oncoming footsteps, he side glanced at the incoming party of ninjas with a disconcerted look. Though he couldn't help but smile when an elbow nudged his waist gently, "Morning." whispered a chirpy looking Tsunade, occupying his side like usual.

Nodding, "Morning." he greeted equally quietly.

"May I have your attention please."

All eyes snapping to the front, everyone eyed the weirdly dressed man with a withering look. Grey, waist length hair tied in a neat ponytail and a pointed goatee on the tip of his chin, he was dressed head to toe in what Naruto recognized to be Samurai armor, "This is Mifune-dono." introduced the man in charge of today's missions' desk. No one even bothered to return a respectful nod, since the man seemed annoyed to be there more than anything else.

Taking an authoritative step upfront, Hiruzen decided to ask the question ringing through everyone's minds, "What might a Samurai of your caliber be doing here, Mifune-dono?" he questioned politely.

The man could have responded curtly, Hiruzen wouldn't have minded. But doing the unthinkable, he scoffed and was clearly fond of the saying, 'Silence is Golden'.

"Hey, is it just me or do things seem to be a lot tenser than usual?"

Everyone ignored Jiraiya's hushed whisper and paid attention upfront, "We have to deliver a scroll back to Iron Country while escorting Mifune-dono and his patronage there as well. Seeing the need for rush, you are the only two squads we currently have that are fresh and raring to go. Hiruzen Sarutobi will be commander for the remainder of this mission, do both squads accept?" it wasn't a question, this was a mission being assigned. There was no room for argument, it was only a stupid front in front of the client. "Hai!" chipped all genin in unison, Hiruzen accepting a couple of scrolls from the chunin and tucking them safely inside his pockets.

"Let's go, we leave in fifteen." was all Hiruzen said before he flickered into thin air in a volley of flames, Mifune in tow with him. Tsunade swirled away in a torrent of water, while Orochimaru was gone with a burst of wind. Duy, eyeing Naruto awkwardly, was about to run away to the location before Naruto clasped his shoulder with a sigh and flickered away in a bolt of lightning.

Sakumo eyed the spot his blonde friend had occupied a moment ago longingly, the unsettling silence now eating away at him. There had been no pleasantries shared between the squad mates, hell not a single one of them had said 'Hi' to each other. At least the blonde had seen Duy's nervousness and even gone so far as to acknowledge him, he himself had been completely disregarded. Even though he had been standing so close to him no more than a few seconds ago;

Why did he feel so far?

* * *

The entire trip had been made in silence, everyone walking quietly with trained eyes searching for an imaginary ambush each passing second. It almost seemed believable that they were wishing for an ambush to take place so that their minds would be taken off the unnerving quietness settled around them. Even Jiraiya, Duy and Tsunade, the most carefree trio of the party, were quiet as a cucumber - testament to the volatile atmosphere surrounding them.

Things between Samurais and Shinobi had hardly been anything but friendly in the past, the former standing up for even the smallest of chores if it called on their honor as warriors while Shinobi were anything but honorable - they were only in it for the money or other forms of gains. Betrayals, back stabbing and mutiny were hardly even surprises anymore for their creed.

Differences made them seem night and day to each other.

Needless to say, both parties held a hateful amount of resentment for the other. Mifune, leading his patronage, eyed the backs of the two genin walking in front of him with a hint of curiosity. More specifically the bold symbols embossed on the back of their necks, "May I ask you something?" he broke the silence.

"Hmm?" Naruto hummed nonchalantly, "Shoot." he shrugged.

"Why do your clans wear your clan symbols so openly?" he asked. "Aren't shinobi supposed to hide their clan names from any and all enemies, or so I've heard?" he questioned in a small attempt to make small talk and learn what made these dishonorable monsters tick.

Surprisingly, "It's a matter of pride." it was Tsunade who answered him. Flicking her ponytail left to right, she locked her hands behind her hips and smiled, "Since olden days, our clans have been unquestionably strong. Not hiding our identities was supposed to be a testament to the powers our clansmen possessed. The four noble clans are the only ones who did this at first, with many others trying to imitate us over time. Most of them forgot about it or just thought it to be too much work, but the noble clans stuck to their codes loyally." she answered in a knowing tone.

"Really?" Mifune asked halfheartedly, "I never would have put words such as honor, loyalty and nobility near the creed of you ninjas." his tone was demeaning, and the shameless snickering of his henchmen behind him was doing anything but riling up a volatile princess way too much for her liking.

"You wouldn't be the first to make that mistake." Naruto chimed in before his female accomplice blew a gasket, "The Senju, The Uchiha, The Uzumaki and The Hyuga aren't feared as the noble clans for no reason, take my word for it. They are the best of allies and worst of opponents" had it not been for his carefree tone and bored expression, it might have been deemed a threat.

"let history be witness to all those who stood against them, be it enemy or ally, not one has ever survived the wrath of the honorable four." he added wisely. Hiruzen stood silently in the back, relishing in observing what it was that had intrigued his father so much to take on this particular genin for his student.

To make the man who hated teaching, become a teacher.

Mifune though, caught the slight wavering in his words, "Them, you say?" he asked. "You speak as if you're not one of them." he added his own two cents, eyeing him cautiously. Naruto hadn't expected him to look so deeply into his words. Narrowing his eyes on the road ahead and glancing back at him with an unsettling smile, "You read too much into it." he simply replied, effectively cutting their conversation to an abrupt halt.

"Uh, hey?" Jiraiya nudged Sakumo's shoulder to gain his attention. "Yeah?" asked Sakumo.

"Is there something wrong with your team?" stiffening at that, Sakumo eyed him suspiciously. "Why would you say that?" he inquired.

"I don't know, I mean each one of you is trying to maintain their distance from the other. Even that guy with the freaky eyebrows is awfully silent." sighing, Sakumo shook his head wordlessly and motioned for him to drop it for now. This was hardly the place to discuss their internal matters and problems. Frowning, but knowing when not to be a prude, Jiraiya dropped the topic and went back to brooding at the unfair positions his sensei had assigned to them.

He had wanted to take point, with Tsunade no less!

But, no…!

It had to have been someone else, Naruto no less!

Being the sharpest eyes of the bunch and the best front line fighter of the bunch, Hiruzen had deemed Naruto to be a better choice for guarding the front of their envoy along with Tsunade. Clearly, he had seen the hints of hostility between teammates of his father's squad, and found it wise to let them have their space to sort things out - time was the best healer in cases like these. Tsunade had been anything but disappointed, instead, she seemed elated, overjoyed even - something that annoyed Jiraiya to no ends.

"Jiraiya, keep your eyes on the road." chided a smooth voice, "Ambush happens when you least expect it to, after all." bristling in anger, said boy leveled a murderous glare at Orochimaru's smug looking back. The teasing edge to his words wasn't lost to the white haired boy, and he looked ready to pull the mane of his hair out with his bare hands.

It was hardly his day.

Ignoring the bickering going on behind his back, Naruto took in all the serenity of these unknown lands with the curiosity of a five year old. West of the road were steep plateaus, providing them with natural shade from the overhead sun. Beige and rugged, they stood tall like watchtowers standing proud on their stony summits. To the east, the grounds were lower while getting deeper and deeper with each step until the land melded with the water flowing beneath the bridge, far in the distance. The bridge itself being the only way to cross the border between Fire Nation and Grass country. As mesmerizing as the view around him was, it unnerved him to no end. An emotion reciprocated equally cautiously by Hiruzen, Sakumo and Orochimaru. This was the perfect spot for an ambush. To make things worse, everything was calm.

Way too calm.

No hoots of baboons, zero chirps of birds - each of them knew from experience what that meant. Eyes bleeding crimson, the black marks in his eyes swirled lazily in concentric circles. Like a predator eyeing his prideful lands, his sinned eyes took in each little flicker of the leaves with vision rivaling that of a hawk. Out of everyone's eye shot, his little finger clasped Tsunade's in a soft clasp. Tilting her head aside, she eyed him curiously. His words were anything but what she had expected to hear;

"We are surrounded."

Stiffening, her hand subtly dug into her hip pouch and gripped a kunai tightly. Gulping uneasily, she let the dreaded words slip past her lips.

"How many?"

Eyes darting around, Naruto signaled Hiruzen with a subtle nod that was reciprocated equally stiffly.

Both of them knew.

"Too many."

That was all he said before all hell broke loose. Harshly clasping Mifune's arm, Naruto vanished in a bolt of lightning just in time to escape the deadly volley of metal stars that would have rained down on them a second later. Landing by his side, Tsunade expanded her senses and looked towards her sensei for orders.

" _Split up."_ the man mouthed.

Unsheathing the sword slung on his waist, "What's the meaning of this?!" roared Mifune, looking at the corpses of some of his unlucky comrades with rage filled eyes.

Naruto would have face-palmed and made a sharp comment had it been any other day, any other time. Instead, "It's an ambush, let's go!" he told him

Clenching his jaw tightly, Mifune followed Tsunade for directions while Naruto flanked the rear for fending off any enemy attacks. Hopping branch to branch, the blonde cursed Mifune's mobility being restricted only to running and started cleaving down wired traps laid down all around them. He was certainly aware of all the samurais running behind them, following their master like lost puppies.

But the main priority right now was Mifune himself.

Skipping a step in his hop, Naruto pushed enough chakra to the soles of his so that the bark of the tree cracked, and barreled himself to Tsunade's side, only to watch the scene unfold in vain. He helplessly watched the raging inferno flowing in from ahead of her in horror, he couldn't make it not matter what!

" **Water Style : Tearing Torrents!"**

Launching a cannon of concentrated water from the river by her side, Tsunade's technique plowed through the flames like butter. She breathed in relief when Naruto landed by her side, a gesture shared by her accomplice. She knew he was the only one right now who could see anything farther than ten meters away from them in the thick steam settled around the area from those colliding techniques.

But that was hardly the case right now.

"Keep your senses trained Tsunade, someone is purposely channeling chakra into the mist. Even my Sharingan cannot fully neutralize everything, so don't drop your guard." he whispered, pushing his back against hers to widen their peripheral vision. He could feel the slight trembling of her body from his back when a wave of potent killing intent washed over the forest, "Tsunade." he called quietly.

"Y-Yes?"

"Calm down Tsu-hime, I'll stay by your side."

His soothing words doing the trick, he could practically feel her breathing return to normal. Peeling his ears to hear the soft clanging of metal, he knew Mifune and the other Samurai were engaging some sort of enemies on their own. But the real enemy was lurching around them, them being the shinobi among the bunch.

Twisting his hand to the back of his neck, he grabbed Kiara by the scuff of her neck and dropped her on the ground. "Go girl." he whispered. The cub soundlessly obeyed his command and dissolved herself in the mist. Now, with another pair of eyes trained on them, Naruto crouched down and placed two fingers on the ground.

Pulsing a small amount of chakra into the ground, he felt it go no more than ten meters to his left before it was disrupted. Grabbing Tsunade by her waist, he jumped back and rightfully watched a chained sickle swing in on the spot in annoyance.

The enemy was trying to get rid of them quickly, that was for sure.

Tsunade though, had already had enough of this mist.

Clapping her palms together, Tsunade churned a humongous amount of chakra in her gut and blasted it out all at once. As a result, the air around them cleared a bit and Naruto's eyes trained in on the silhouette of an averaged height, muscularly built man. Blonde hair, a bit danker than Tsunade's own, the man was wearing a weird hat on his head and the lower half of his face was obscured by a strange helmet-like respirator mask. His headband had four vertical lines embossed on it.

Whoever the hell it was, he was no ally.

No Rain shinobi was an ally to the Leaf.

Mifune and the rest of their party rallied by the two genin, while some more Rain ninjas rallied behind the masked men.

"I-It's Hanzo." stammered a shook samurai behind Mifune.

"Hanzo?!" exclaimed another in shock, "You don't mean of the Salamander, do you?!" he gasped in terror. Naruto certainly had no idea who the hell this Hanzo was, but whoever the hell it was, this guy was certainly strong. His presence alone was rivaling Sasuke's when the man was serious, and that in itself was a testament to his strength.

Raring ahead in a blur of gold, Naruto expertly circled his knees on the ground and got behind Hanzo's back. The man in question tightened the chain of his Kusarigama to block his kick. Sticking both his palms to the ground, Naruto hopped up to force both his heels on Hanzo's neck and snap his neck like a twig.

The man had enough honed instincts to effortlessly jump back and avoid the lethal maneuver while making it look easy, "That's some speed you've got." he complimented the blonde.

Naruto took it with a pinch of salt and jumped back by Tsunade's side, who had already had enough by this point. "What the hell do you want?" she snapped.

"I have no business with you Leaf ninjas, it's the samurai I want." he told her, "Leave and don't look back. Live to see another day, there are no allies among shinobi."

Tsunade hesitated, she knew from the opening attack Naruto had just made that they were no match for him. Even if Naruto could rally toe to toe with him, the experience in his eyes alone would crush him.

"That's not going to happen."

Looking at Naruto as if he was stupid, she was about to burst his bubble to turn back and get their sensei until Mifune held them back when;

"We were assigned to escort Mifune to his home, alive. I'm not about to fail that mission, take my word for it." Naruto pressed on.

"W-We should get Hiruzen-sama here!" one samurai stammered.

"Certainly, we are no match for him!"

Before Mifune could so much as utter a word of defiance and courage to encourage them, his men were running away from him like headless chickens. Naruto couldn't help but send an amused look at the seething man, "Those are some 'warriors' you've got." he mocked.

It stung, even Tsunade saw the hurt flash in his eyes. To think his men had scurried away like the cowards they were while the mutinous ninjas were sticking by his side, all for the sake of a mission they could abort any second without any repercussions did shame Mifune to no ends.

There were no witnesses among the dead, even if they left him here to die, they could surely say he fell in battle and go on to take full payment of their mission back home, "Why would you stay?" he asked.

Clicking his teeth, "Don't count your fortunes yet old man. The moment I see fit, we are abandoning fort. But until then, I'll fight by your side." Naruto said, his tone cocky. Something in his gut told Mifune the boy wasn't one to abandon an ally.

As loose as the term was, given the circumstances, he would take him over death.

" **AHH!"**

Snapping his head back with a start, Mifune watched in horror as the flesh of his comrades was melted off their bones by some weird purple-looking mist. Tsunade grimaced seeing the huge salamander, possibly a summon, swallow the corpses whole before burrowing itself underground. "Poison cloud." she told him ruefully.

Nodding, Mifune would have teared up in sorrow had he not been experiencing the rage he was feeling right now. Coward or not, they were - no, had been his kin, "Hanzo-dono, allow me to challenge you to battle." he issued the challenge.

Looking amused, "So you're Mifune, eh?" asked Hanzo, "Why do you ally with shinobi?" taken aback by his question, Mifune could do nothing more than look at him with a numb gaze.

Pressing on even harder, "It's out of character for all the time you samurai have spent holding onto your stupid old ways, why contract villages with arms when you resent violence so much?" Hanzo asked again. "The oh-so honorable and master-less samurai have finally sold their souls, their loyalties - and joined with shinobi for some throwaway nickles and dimes, huh?" he mocked him.

" **Yet, you still dare to call yourselves samurai?!"**

Taking a step back in hesitance from Hanzo's furious roar, Mifune's eyes traveled down in shame in a rare moment of weakness. That was all the time Hanzo needed to prowl on him like the predator he was, but he was certainly not expecting what happened next.

Meeting his blade with a clang, experienced black eyes met furious crimson ones for a moment too long before he jumped back to avoid the over reaching slash of Naruto's black blade, "Get your heart together, old man. This is no time to fall for such subtle manipulation tactics!" reprimanded Naruto.

Hanzo was clearly not pleased with the unsolicited interruption, "You talk big for a kid your size, let's see if you can back it up!" roared Hanzo, circling the weighted end of his Kusarigama and flinging it at Tsunade's feet to take off her balance. Not being prepared for such a skilled high speed attack, Tsunade watched in shock as Naruto's form protectively jumped in front of her before he buried the chain into the ground with the tip of his sword.

The corner of his eyes warning him of the imminent danger as they saw the slight movement the links to the Kusarigama's chain made, Naruto flicked out a kunai and brought it overhead to block the sickle from embedding it's tip right into his skull.

"For a brat your age, you're not half bad." commented Hanzo.

Scoffing, Naruto cleaved his chain in half when the man tried to yank his sword away from him. "Preposterous!" shouted Hanzo, furious at the state his beloved weapon was in right now. No sword had ever been able to match his in straight combat, to think he had cleaved it without so much as an effort.

Hanzo eyed the black blade in Naruto's hands avariciously, "What sword is that?!" he questioned in intrigue.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself about."

Staring down at him in utter disdain, "Cheeky little brat, that." muttered Hanzo.

Both taking a step towards each other, Naruto twisted his blade to allow the light to gleam off his sword. "Tsunade, stay back." he whispered and finally caught Hanzo's eyes with the shine his sword was gleaming with.

Repulsing in pain, Hanzo blinked off his momentary blindness and instinctively brought his blade up to protect his neck from being slit in two, "No matter how dirty you fight." he hissed and kicked Naruto in the chest. Taking the breath away from his lungs, Naruto was launched back like a rag doll before his back harshly met the bark of a tree. "The difference in skill is too much, brat." he taunted blithely.

Spitting a glob of blood and spit aside, Naruto stood up with furious defiance shining proudly in his eyes. Mirroring Hanzo's slow steps towards him, "We'll just see about that." he said, right before both broke into a sprint towards one another.

As soon as he reached withing arms' length to him, Hanzo spread his feet apart and circled himself in a fully circular arc - his blade aiming straight for Naruto's torso. Not one for being upped so quickly, Naruto hopped on his heels and in a sudden twist of events, landed on Hanzo's flat blade like a monkey. Going forth to swing his sword once more for his target's neck, Naruto's eyes barely caught the weighted chain of Hanzo's Kusarigama in his peripheral vision before it wrapped itself around his arms.

Swirling him around in circles, Hanzo flung Naruto right back where he came from with the same outcome, just a tad bit harsher, as the last time. Coughing blood this time, Naruto instinctively rolled aside to avoid Hanzo's kick to his chest, a kick that made a small crater on contact.

He certainly didn't want to be struck by one of those.

Flinging his body up from the waist down, he placed his palms on the ground over his head and started acrobatically back flipping for dear life to avoid Hanzo's relentless slashes. Getting a hold of his feet for a split second, he ran up a tree with the agility of a squirrel, with the enemy in tow and started hopping away from him, branch to branch, with the agility akin to that of a cat.

Skillfully dodging all the shurikens being flung at his back, he ran for dear life while Hanzo's ominous shadow started looming over him like a reaper. Twisting his body in mid air, he blocked Hanzo's blade with his own when his eyes caught Hanzo's subtle smirk, "You're done, brat." pushing all his weight and brute strength onto him, Naruto barely had time to crane his neck back when the ground beneath them cracked open. A wide mouthed Salamander had it's mouth open with bubbling purple poison gurgling in it's mouth, the creature waiting to gobble him up like candy any moment now.

Breaking free his blade, Hanzo forced both his soles onto Naruto's feet and jumped back with all his strength. Effectively sending Naruto tumbling right into the Salamander's mouth, that is, he would have had it not been for the white blur that caught him mid air and ran off into the distance.

"You can run brat, but you can't hide!"

With that furious roar, Hanzo jumped onto his summon and followed the trail of that weird white streak, the same size as that brat that was running with that brat he had a bone to pick with. Mifune and that girl could wait and play with his minions for now, he would have them later. For, he was feeling a strange new sensation slithering away in his heart, a sensation he had'nt felt in a long time now.

This weird Uchiha was stroking his blood lust in all the wrong ways.

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : I hope this chapter was good, with the action an all. It's been a while since I wrote an action packed chapter, so I hope this was on par with my other fics as well.**_

 _ **Next chapter will be the first time I'll show Naruto cut loose, for this was, as stupid as it sounds, just the warm up. I'll put in Tsunade and Mifune's perspectives as well, since I do tend to prefer third person narratives more than first person ones, most of you would have known by now anyways if you are reading this. I certainly enjoyed writing this chapter, it got me back in the zone and I guess the plot has advanced just enough for my tastes. Last chapter was a bit slow when I went back to re-read it, so I apologize all those who felt the same way.**_

 _ **Don't even ask me what or when I'll update next, just bear with poor little me and wait for it. It will be worth your time, I promise.**_

 _ **So, until next time. Keep reading, and do review this one - I wanna know your troubles, if any you have, with this fight so I could work it out if need be.**_

 _ **Ja Ne ;)**_

* * *

 _ **PS : No rants about Tsunade's weaknesses, she is not weak - I hate weak female characters. I swear I'll sick Hanzo's salamander on whoever rants for it in the reviews. Just wait for the next few chapters, that is all I'll say for now.**_


	19. Aftermath and Resignations

**Naruto : Uchiha Chronicles Redux**

* * *

Pain.

That was the first thing Naruto's mind registered as his eyes blinked open in a blurry haze. Blue eyes flickering back and forth to their crimson counterparts could only do so much as to comprehend the shadow of an arm hovering over his head. His mind told him to stand down, every fiber of his being screaming not to move but his pride whispered otherwise.

Raising his arm to stop his enemy's sword, and cursing his own weakness for not being able to stop his arms from shaking; Naruto spat a glob of blood and spit aside. "You're done, Uchiha. I've won at last. Resistance is futile and you will submit." Hanzo stated thick and firm, his voice commanding authority.

"...damn it." Naruto cursed for what seemed like the millionth time today. "Why did you stop?!" the blonde hissed. His Sharingan finally gave way to naturally aspirated azure eyes. Hanzo's blade hovered over his forehead like an ominous shadow, just an inch here or an inch there, and Naruto's life would be done for. "…All I want to hear from your mouth is that you give up." Hanzo said after a moment of silence.

Naruto couldn't help but wince out a laugh, "What? Seriously?!" he clutched his bleeding innards to give himself some more time in this world. Hanzo smirked himself, moving on to sheathing his blade behind his back. If Naruto hadn't fought him, he have labeled him an overconfident jerk. But alas, given the position he was in right now, his words lacked the weight.

"This whole battle all you've done is taunt me, smirk to my face and if that wasn't enough you even disrespected my strength. You've tried some underhanded tactics, sure, but not once have you aimed your attacks at my back. Why is that?" Hanzo's words made absolutely no sense to the blonde. Here he was, ready to be killed and put six feet under and yet his opponent was taking his time. This bastard was enjoying this, wasn't he?

Pathetic.

"The same goes for you. My back was open to you plenty of times as well."

And there it was, the thing that both annoyed and elated Hanzo at the same damn time. That godforsaken, prideful smirk of his. "Admit it. Admit your defeat" Hanzo said with a bit more force than was necessary to get his point across in that thick skull of his.

Naruto shook his head, having no idea just what more this man wanted from him. "Well I do. I give up. I've given everything I've got and there's still no way I can beat you. The gap between our strengths is too large right now. You're strong, as loathe as I am to admit it."

Hanzo clasped his mask back onto his mouth to hide his smile, "It's good to see you finally realize the full terror of Hanzo the Salamander. You knew from the very start that you were no match for me. Even your comrades ran away with their tails between their legs. Then w not stay back and chance an escape when you know the inevitable?" Hanzo questioned in honest curiosity.

"I can't just turn my back to an opponent willing to give me a fight. And when your blade first met mine ***cough*** I don't know. Blood started pumping into my head and all I knew was that I couldn't just turn my back on you. It's sort of like an instinct I have, you know. Plus, Tsunade and the gang trusted me enough to take care of you and watch their back. I've let her down. Again."

"Instinct you say?" Hanzo rubbed his chin and sat down cross legged, "Intriguing."

"Yeah. I have my moments." Naruto sat a little upright to be eye level with the man. "Why don't you finish me off? Or is even finishing me off too belittling for someone of your stature?" Naruto knew his bark had no more bite to it. But this was all his ego could take. To be utterly destroyed by an enemy who was toying with him to the very end, add pitying to that… and well… it wasn't sitting well with his dazed mind and bruised ego right now.

It was mostly the latter than the former though.

"Quite the contrary actually," Hanzo dismissed his words with a wave of his hand. "I've lived longer than your feeble little mind can even begin to comprehend and fought more battles than the years you've been a ninja." Hanzo scoffed, practically insulted that his legendary status was being looked down upon, by a genin no less. "But I know strength when I see it. And yours is formidable I must admit. To vanquish it right now would be a terrible waste, wouldn't you agree?" Naruto shook his head in disbelief and just let it be. His body and mind were way too tired and beat up to even begin making sense of this situation.

Hanzo couldn't help but envy this runt's confidence. Even after being put through the grinder, standing in the face of likely death, Naruto seemed disappointed in being given the chance to live rather than being overjoyed about it. And to think that this brat reminded him so much of himself, _sitting defeated_ _in front of that man,_ all those years ago was annoying. Speaking of which, there was one other thing he had wanted to ask. "Tell me, boy. What is the name Uchiha Madara to you?" Hanzo questioned. He had way too much resemblance to Madara for it to be a mere coincidence.

Looks wise they maybe poles apart but there was something about them in common.

Their eyes and the pride that shone within them.

The only thing this brat didn't have was Madara's fabled strength. But given a few years, even Hanzo believed this runt could prove to be a worthy adversary. Not on the level as the once revered Uchiha had, however, he could still make a name for himself given some time.

There was a moment of silence when all was quiet in the clearing for a few long minutes "...Nothing. Never even heard of him." Naruto whispered and his hair shadowed his eyes.

"Hm." Hanzo hummed, "…That's disappointing,"

All his younger life, Hanzo had thought himself to be unbeatable - omnipotent even by the time he'd hit his teens. But one day, in scourge of some wandering Leaf shinobi who had lost his way in his country and was trying as he might to sneak into the Land of Earth, Hanzo had ambushed a certain _someone_ in hopes of taking his head and retrieving a fortune for it _._

It had not ended well for him. At all.

 _Hair dancing in the wind, arms crossed. "Go on and cling to your wretched life, worm. Come see me in a hundred years when you are worthy to call yourself a man. Until then, survive." Madara had once spoken to a defeated Hanzo. He had been but a bug in his way. A bug who Madara had been more than obliging to squat. That day, in a rare occurrence, Madara had shown mercy to his enemy. Hanzo had made a name for himself by becoming a person who had the balls to fight Madara one on one, and survive the next day to tell his tale._

A tale Hanzo had been ashamed of even thinking about, much less telling someone.

Maybe Madara had pitied him. Or Hanzo had been unworthy to die by a legend's hands.

It was probably the latter.

This Uchiha certainly had that same look in his eyes and the ego to match if nothing else. It was truly a shame that the two weren't related though, "Why do you ask?" Naruto's question broke Hanzo off of his trance. Hanzo was getting to nostalgic for his own good.

"Nothing. Just reminiscing about old times." he waved him off. "It doesn't concern you."

Naruto chuckled, "Don't you go dying on me from old age next," now that would be embarrassing.

But the shouts growing louder and louder from afar broke Hanzo off his reverie as he stood up. Turning around to leave, he stopped for a moment and looked back. Hesitant if what he was about to do was right or not. But after a minute or so of deep contemplation, Hanzo chucked a vial in the boy's lap and turned to leave. "That antidote will only relieve you off the poison. If fate should have it that you do indeed survive those wounds - I'll be looking forward to our next battle in the near future. Though the odds for you are one in ten. At best." well, the odds at least were humbling, Naruto thought in mild bemusement.

Naruto laughed again and removed his hand to show Hanzo a gaping hole in his lower left waist - a hole wide enough that it was showing the boulder behind him like clear glass, "What makes you think I'll survive this?" he asked with a touch of sarcasm, eyes smiling.

Mischievous, chivalry, twinkle of hope and happiness beyond measure. But he still didn't have an ounce of fear in those eyes of his, cheeky little brat that. He'd live, probably.

"I have a gut feeling is all," Hanzo walked away, hand held high in a non-committed wave. "But I would watch my back from now on, if I were you." he remarked as an afterthought.

"Bastard," Naruto chuckled when Hanzo was out of hearing range and popped the vial open. Gulping down it's contents in one go, the antidote spread through his bloodstream like liquid fire. The pain became so intense that he had to let the pressure off of his wound. But even then, Naruto willed himself not to scream. If he did, Tsunade would lose her wits and her focus if she head him. And probably do something stupid to rush back to his aid. That was simply unacceptable. Now that gave Naruto a different perspective to contemplate.

What did Hanzo mean by that?

Were his friends in trouble too?

What if Tsunade needed him right now?

Was that what Hanzo meant by that?

What if she was hoping for him to return to her aid and was in trouble?

That would not bode well for her, or for him. At all. He had to get his body moving.

And get it moving now!

"But I've got to do something about this wound first," he muttered in annoyance.

His hands idly searched around for a kunai in his holster and upon finding one, Naruto stuck it in between his teeth and clasped the bloodied hole in his abdomen tightly closed with his fist. Naruto threw his head back in anguish and pushed his hand inward and inward while his chakra transformed into flames, burning his innards to a crisp. His legs swatted back and forth in agony and he slammed his head on the boulder as he willed himself to change his seal into a horse sign with his free hand. This was truly the one moment he regretted not having any medical expertise. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

It was either dying like that, or die like a dog.

And he'd rather die trying than dying a useless death.

If his life could save another, a life as precious as hers…

" **F-Fire Style-**

Naruto hesitated. Even through all the torture training Tobirama had put him through, Naruto couldn't help but let fear overtake him for but a moment. A couple of tears rolled down his eyes in sheer terror. His mind couldn't even begin to comprehend the kind of pain that would ensue after this. But the thought of those smiling hazel eyes, that charmingly stupid smile and Tsunade's loud laughs made his resolve steel once more. Shaking hand morphed itself into a composed Tiger Seal and Naruto breathed a narrow stream of flames to sear his wounds close and to keep that vision of a smiling paradise still a reality.

" **AHH!"**

It was even more painful than he'd ever imagined. His entire body shook, eyes widened like there was no tomorrow, heart convulsed, lungs ached for air and his face writhed in agony as the foul smell of smoldering flesh struck Naruto's nostrils. It took all his willpower just to stay awake and not pass out then and there. But he couldn't pass out like this, not when…

Tsunade could have need of his help.

* * *

This was a bad idea.

Naruto knew it from the moment he started walking. Or stumbling was more like it. His arms felt like stumps made of lead by this point. His legs probably weighed a ton and had a few cracks in them here and there. He could practically feel the cracks so take his word for it, the cracks were indeed present and accounted for. And Hanzo's antidote felt more like poison right now. Even if it was one, Naruto wasn't particularly sure of his chances for survival. He was limping with a makeshift crutch carved out of a wooden stick for support.

What help could he possibly give her given his condition?

None.

The most he could come up with was to hide from Tsunade's sight until necessity for him arose and jump in front of a lethal blow for her should the need arise for such drastic measures. Not a glamorous plan, sure, but it was all Naruto could come up with given his flaccid state. In the end, even Naruto knew in his heart that it was all just an excuse to see Tsunade one more time should his body and soul finally give out on him. A fucking shield. That was all he was worth right now.

But it was fine if it helped Tsunade, he comforted himself.

So this was what death felt like, huh, Naruto marveled. Ego bruised, pride crushed, body probably broken beyond repair and yet his thoughts felt sharp. His heart felt so clear. It was pure serenity and tranquility bound to emotion in human form. Another cough rocked his body, and Naruto took his time to empty his guts on a tree. Blood and some other stuff he couldn't make sense of spilled on Mother Earth. Eventually, Naruto started walking again.

Tsunade would have killed him had she seen him do that.

That girl loved nature for reasons beyond his feeble psyche.

"Tsunade," Naruto whispered, lightheaded. Knees finally gave way to ground as all strength left his body.

"Naruto,"

Said blonde thought he was hearing things in death, but thankfully it was _her_ _voice_. And Naruto soon realized that he wasn't death-dreaming, when, instead of crashing face first into the ground; a soft and strong pillar of support held him up firmly. Naruto didn't know what it was. The softness, the scent or perhaps the distinct feel of her chakra that gave her presence away. But given how blurry his vision was, those were the only things he could rely on to recognize her.

"Stay still," a soft voice murmured in his ear and he felt a small surge of chakra moved his arms up. Slowly, like a sculptor who appraised his murals, Naruto caressed her waist and his hand gently roamed across her back. She was still as soft and welcoming as she ever was.

Now this was a proper way to go out, Naruto thought with a smile. "I'm so glad you're okay, I had no idea what kind of sick freaks were tagging along that man." he whispered. Transferring his crutch onto the other hand, Naruto held out his arm to Tsunade as a gesture and she wordlessly stepped into his embrace without hesitation; never once removing her hand from his gaping wound. It was a bit wobbly, sure, but it was no less heartfelt than it ever was. Naruto buried his face in her hair and breathed in the earthy, ashen scent of her hair that told him she had been in this battlefield for way too long.

"Baka," Tsunade sniffed. "…worry about yourself this once."

"I'm okay," Naruto lied weakly, his vision darkening. "…I just have to shut my eyes for a bit."

"Oi!" Tsunade shook him gently. "Don't sleep. Stay awake! You must stay awake!"

But her attempts at keeping him awake were futile, even her medical chakra was failed.

Naruto's pain filled consciousness gave way to blissful unconsciousness. Orochimaru, meanwhile, stood behind the two to keep them guard and kept observing their exchange without even a word. Neither was it his place to speak nor was he interested in them.

His mind was too intrigued by the sudden spurge of growth in plants around him.

He made sure to take some samples too.

Now that, that was intriguing.

"Tsunade," Jiraiya clasped her shoulder tightly. "We should go and find sensei now. This place is compromised."

"Yeah," Tsunade wiped her wet cheeks and nodded, hoisting Naruto upon her shoulders. "Let's go Orochi!"

Said boy stopped collecting his plant samples and pocketed them, nodding, "Let leave."

All of them took to the trees to find Hiruzen and get back to the Leaf as soon as possible.

* * *

 **Konohagakure no Sato**

* * *

 **Senju Households**

* * *

Uzumaki Mito, contrary to popular beliefs that ran around the village, was infact a perfectly fine and emotionally sound woman. She wasn't interested in most of Leaf's affairs or it's people by virtue of her personality, but she did in fact care an awful lot about the people close to her which were so few she could probably count them at the tips of her fingers and have some left to continue on sewing her blanket like she was now. With that in mind, "Has something been bothering you, Tsunade?" she couldn't help herself from asking.

"No." was her granddaughter's curt and precise reply. As it had been for the past few days she had scooped herself up in the house. Mito smiled, "Why are you sulking then?" she asked, amused at how transparent her baby girl still was to her. Tsunade, having her back turned to Mito, pulled her knees to her chest and huffed, which Mito knew was her last line of defense before the girl melted in front of her eyes like warm butter after her subtle manipulations.

"I'm not sulking." Tsunade pouted.

"Hm." Mito hummed, unimpressed by her lies.

Tsunade twitched, "Really," she stressed. "I'm not."

Mito shook her head, "Sure." she remarked offhandedly.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Tsunade snapped, annoyed by her curt answers.

Mito kept on knitting lock after lock on her blanket in ignorance, "Nothing at all."

Her granddaughter's eye ticked, "Why can't you just believe me for once, baa-chan?!" Tsunade protested.

"How can you believe your own words when they hold no weight to them, honey?" Mito replied calmly, cool as a cucumber. Try as she might, Tsunade couldn't conjure up a retort. It was funny for Mito to see her try though, she looked constipated if Mito hadn't known her so well. "Ngh!~" Tsunade whined childishly and forced her face to hide into her lap. That was all Tsunade could do to save the little self dignity she had left in a spur of the moment.

The sight itself was damn near adorable for an oppressive grandmother to witness and not do something about it. "Aw." Mito cooed softly, placing aside her sewing kit and moving closer to hold her girl from behind. "What's gotten you into such a rut, huh?!" Mito smiled even more seeing Tsunade readily untie her hair so Mito could work her magic into them. Mito wrapped her arms around Tsunade's waist and placed a chaste kiss on top her head.

Tsunade nearly melted then and there.

"How did you know I was troubled?" Tsunade asked with a tilt of her head, finally tired of arguing with a wall that she knew she couldn't conquer.

Mito gave her a knowing smile, "You haven't been coming to me for any medical lessons, no training, no meetings with your friends. Plus, I do cook in this house everyday. So, I know when you aren't eating right." Tsunade had the decency to look a tad bit sheepish.

"You haven't even gone to visit the hospital even once since Naruto's condition stabilized." the sour look on Tsunade's face hearing that wasn't lost to Mito but she ignored it, _for now._

"Why should I care if he's stabilized? He can go and die for all I care." Tsunade snapped.

Mito rose an eyebrow, "So, all that crying outside the operation theater during Naruto's surgery I heard was a lie…" she mused.

Tsunade blushed, "It wasn't like that! I was just worried was all, I'd do that for anyone!" she asserted valiantly, but it was a losing battle, even she herself knew that.

Suddenly, the picture behind Tsunade's constipated face from earlier became clear in Mito's eyes, "You two had a fight, I assume?" she idly wondered, easing the kinks in Tsunade's glittering hair. Well kempt hair were a matter of pride for noble women, after all.

"How can we have a fight?" Tsunade thundered, surprising Mito.

"Why not?" as far back as Mito could remember, her two blondes bickered on practically everything until they were out of breath. Naruto was usually the one to surrender though, Tsunade had way too much energy to spare at the end of their aguments.

"I told you I don't care for him anymore, baa-chan." Tsunade tried to switch topics.

Not like Mito was having any of it, "I saw he had quite a rough time in the last mission…" she wondered idly.

If possible, Tsunade's mood turned even more sour. "Hell if I knew," she spat bitterly.

"He didn't tell you?" Mito asked surprised. Tsunade was usually the one Naruto confided in almost all of the time, even Tobirama had admitted her little ones knew each other more than even Mito knew them. That last part irked Mito far more than she bothered admitting.

"He doesn't tell me shit!" Tsunade nearly bit her tongue at the end.

Mito gave her a sharp look, "Language, young lady. I'll not have any of that in this house."

"Sorry," Tsunade apologized softly, ducking her head a little.

Mito gave her a tight squeeze to re-energize her downtrodden girl, "So that's what this is all about." Tsunade's silent stance gave Mito all the confirmation she needed.

There was a moment of silence, "I tried asking him like usual, you know." Tsunade whispered and Mito stayed silent so Tsunade could confide all her worries with her.

"But he just kept dodging my questions one way or another," Tsunade mumbled, letting her head be pulled onto her grandmother's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"He never does that," Tsunade babbled on.

Mito stoked her hair comfortingly, "Give him some time." she felt her neck get wet and tightly wrapped Tsunade up in her arms and tried to hide her from the world's worries.

"He was so cold to me," Tsunade sniffed.

"Shh." Mito tried to hush her up.

"I don't think he trusts me anymore, baa-chan." Tsunade finally cried.

Mito laughed softly, "Don't be silly,"

"He doesn't. I know it. After all, I wasn't there to help him when he needed me."

The thought that Tsunade would blame herself for Naruto's severe condition had come to Mito's mind, but her little one was taking it a step too far. She herself knew what Naruto was doing was only natural, it was just that Tsunade hadn't exactly had the same kind of experiences Mito had gone through all her life. He was simply uncomfortable letting Tsunade know he had been totaled by a foe. It must have taken a toll on his pride to let her see his condition, much less tell her what events had led him to it. The thought of Tsunade thinking of him as a weak nobody must have him troubled.

"Men usually have a saying that women are fickle. It's not exactly true, Tsunade." Mito's voice took a wizened warmth. "Men are usually far more vulnerable than us. They just hide it better." Tsunade looked at her grandmother with wide, moist eyes and kept her silence. She loved these moments when her grandmother would share stories upon stories of her younger days.

Mito's eyes clouded in fond nostalgia, "Your grandfather, for example, he was a silly little man in this house while I always played the responsible role." Tsunade smiled tearfully seeing her grandma looking so happy. "It was all a facade though," Mito admitted softly.

"A facade?" Tsunade parroted.

"Yes, a lie." Mito nodded. "He liked leaving all his worries the moment he stepped in the door to this house. It was only so we never got to realize all that he had to go through in his daily life. He honestly thought he had me in oblivion, that fool." Mito's smile countered her words. Seeing Tsunade's eyes mirroring her disbelief, Mito smiled knowing her thoughts.

"You thought he never had rough days?" it wasn't even her fault, to be honest. Hashirama had always been the happy go lucky man all his life, it was only in her arms that he showed his true, venerable self. After all, something troubling the 'God of Shinobi' was a laughable thought in and of itself. "He did have rough days, Tsunade. Rougher than most, infact. Being Hokage is no easy task. And being his first lady is even tougher still,"

"..." Tsunade had no words to make of Mito's admissions.

"Every now and then, your grandfather would have something he wanted to talk to someone about but couldn't. Be it his ego, shame, pride or whatever you want to call it. There were things he wouldn't ever want to confide to anyone about, not even Tobirama." Mito rambled on. "But a human can only bubble up so much. And when the time came for him to pop, he did it in the arms of the only person he ever truly trusted in his entire life."

"You." Tsunade whispered in amazement.

Mito smiled, and didn't deny it. Her cheeks took a crimson hue though, "He would go on and on like an idiot after a night together and parrot it all out in front of me. You should have seen him afterwards though, he looked so embarrassed and sheepish after it that it was hysterical." she laughed shamelessly at the her husband's former misfortunes.

"What did you do after that?" Tsunade asked, way too invested in the story right now.

"Nothing," Mito said, cleaning an unshed tear from the corner of her eyes.

Tsunade shot her a dirty look, "...Nothing." she parroted. Had it been her in place of her grandmother, there would be hell to pay for whoever would have made Naruto unhappy - unbeknownst to herself at what she was admitting to herself with her psycholgical comparisons.

"I just listened," Mito flicked her nose to garner Tsunade's attention. "There are times when that is all a man needs. Someone to listen to his heart. But those times are really rare and they only ever share those words with a special someone. Give Naruto some time, he'll come to you when the time for him to pop is finally there, and then he'll tell you everything." Mito said confidently.

Tsunade fidgeted, "…he will?" she murmured, unsure of her words.

"He will." Mito picked her chin up and placed a kiss on her forehead.

Tsunade threw her arms around Mito's neck, "I love you, baa-chan."

"I love you too, munchkin." Mito laughed, rubbing her arm gently.

Her mind drifted elsewhere as a sudden thought struck her mind. "Would you mind doing a mission for me, Tsunade?" she wondered out loud.

"Of course." Tsunade replied instantly, still content in snuggling her face in Mito's neck.

Mito knew these were the best times to get Tsunade to do something for her, as guilty as that made her, it was essential.

Tobirama would throw a fit when he learned what she had made them do, however.

"You'd have to take Naruto with you for it though," Mito stated the condition.

"Uh," Tsunade hesitated, but the petting Mito gave her hair caved her in. "Whatever," she mumbled childishly.

Mito nodded approvingly, "I'll have it approved by your granduncle then," she said.

"Where do we have to go for it?" Tsunade questioned glibly.

"Uzu." Mito replied simply.

Tsunade nearly gave a squeal in delight, "I'll get to see Ashina-jiji then!"

"Yes, that you will." Mito laughed in her hand. The last time she had visited Uzu, Hashirama and her father Ashina had nearly bankrupted their fortunes for Tsunade's gambling endeavors.

Seeing Tsunade smiling, "Gambling is prohibited though," Mito bashed Tsunade's hopes quickly before they got anywhere.

"Aw." Tsunade pouted.

Mito sighed, there was no need for another moment of bankruptcy in her house.

* * *

 **Konoha Hospital**

* * *

Waking up in a hospital was getting annoying pretty fast if someone asked Naruto. But cuffed down to his bed limb for limb…well this was testing his patience far more than he'd like it being tested. It was the handiwork of Mito Baa-chan, no doubt about it. Anyone other than her wouldn't have been able to restrain him bar Tobirama, and he would at least have been able to dislocate a couple of joints using chakra to break free, but these dang things had suppression seals slapped over them like there was no tomorrow.

Idly, his mind wandered back to the fight and he wondered just how long he had been out for this time. "So…" a foreign yet known voice interrupted, breaking the silence in the room.

Naruto didn't even have to turn his neck to know who it was, "Old man…,"

"You got decimated the last I heard." Tobirama said, amused.

Naruto shot him a dirty look and yanked the chains on his wrists, "Do you mind?" he motioned to the keys hanging on the back of the main of the door.

"Not at all. I find it amusing if anything." Tobirama smirked at his agitated student. Naruto waited, and waited, and waited some more for him to do something about his cuffs but Tobirama didn't. Apparently much more content in letting him suffer for some good old amusement. His old man had a very sadistic sense of humor too, if Naruto were to say.

Naruto twitched, "Very funny." he said dryly.

Ignoring Naruto's glare, "It is from my side," Tobirama remarked instantly.

Naruto shook his head, sighing, "How long have I been out this time?" he asked.

"You've been kept in an induced come for a week," Tobirama replied.

So, counting the first two times it came down to a round total of a month.

"Great," Naruto heaved tiredly, rubbing his forehead. His wounds must have been rather severe if Mito Baa-chan had to go and sign on these drastic measures to keep him down.

"…You nearly died." Tobirama said after a moment of silence.

Feeling guilty and ashamed, "Yeah, I'm sorry." Naruto apologized.

Tobirama uncrossed his arms and got up from the windowsill, walking up to Naruto's bed. He raised his arm as soon as he reached it and Naruto pulled away his face with clenched eyes, fully expecting a slap for his weakness and failure on a crucial mission. When suddenly, out of nowhere, the arm wrapped around his shoulders and forcefully pulled his head into a firm chest.

"I'm glad you came back alive." Tobirama admitted in no more than a whisper, but his words were no less heartfelt than Mito's would have been in that moment. Naruto eyes widened and watered, and it hurt his heart far more than it would have had it been a slap in place of this, and so, he buried his face in Tobirama's chest with a soft wail of anguish.

Tobirama, having no prior experience in comforting someone gave his back some pats. "There there…" he muttered lamely. It still irked the current Hokage that his pupil had been expecting a slap for a failure on a mission way above his pay grade. But the kinds of things he had put him through in Naruto's younger years as part of his "training", Tobirama honestly wasn't surprised by Naruto's reaction. He had been inwardly furious hearing Naruto's condition, but Hiruzen's report stated that the spot where Naruto had battled his enemy had been a bridge when it had started but had been dissolved into a scorching crater by the time Hiruzen had laid witness to it.

His apprentice had fought valorously, and came out alive.

That was all a teacher could ask of his student, if Tobirama were to be honest.

Mito was correct in constantly nagging him with the fact that these children were still thirteen and way too green for the harsh reality lurking outside the Leaf's walls. Oftentimes he had overlooked Naruto's age during his training, going so far as to put him through things that would have made Hiruzen, or even Danzo quit being his students. But the boy had an ego the size of his grandfather's statue, and so, he had never once complained. Thus, Tobirama had pushed Naruto's limits even farther.

He clutched Naruto's shoulder tightly, veins bulging on his wrists, "Who was it that did this to you?" Tobirama asked. Tobirama's voice held no emotion and yet Naruto had never heard him sound as menacing and frightening as this. And Naruto didn't have to think twice to realize who Tobirama was referring to, "Some man named Hanzō, said he was from the Rain village." he said with a smile.

Even if Tobirama didn't show it most of the time, Naruto knew he cared.

That was enough.

Tobirama's jaw clicked in annoyance. He had indeed heard that name. Some idiot trying to bring revolution to the world was what he'd heard of him, "He said he knew my grandfather." Naruto added.

Tobirama sighed, having already feared this. "A mistake is more like it. Your grandfather left him alive during my brother's reign saying this Hanzō fellow was far too weak to stain his hands with. Hashirama never paid second mind to him either. But those two were on a different level altogether, so their strength measurement skills left much to be desired." he clipped, miffed.

If possible, Naruto felt even worse hearing this. Someone _that man_ had crushed like a bug had returned the favor to him in full fervor while he had been unable to do anything about it.

It was humiliating.

Pathetic.

Moving on to more pressing matters, "I'm dissolving Squad Seven. Effective immediately." Tobirama revealed with the subtlety of a hammer. Even if the council hadn't been biting down on his back, he would have done it regardless lest he have his pupil going rogue. That was an outcome Tobirama was unwilling to let happen, ever.

"So…" Naruto hiccuped. "I'm no longer…"

Tendrils of water rose from the flower vase by his bedside, cutting off the shackles as if they were made of Styrofoam. Naruto rubbed his aching wrists, not even having the courage to look in his master's eyes. Tobirama eyed him curiously waiting for a reaction,"You are no longer a genin," he confirmed Naruto's fears with a nod.

Naruto chuckled, "Can't say I didn't expect this. One strike and I'm out, eh?" a lone tear gave his feelings away though.

Tobirama threw him his headband, "I have something different in mind for you." he smirked.

Naruto gave him an odd look, "Something different…" he parroted, weirded out by his vague replies.

As if on queue, the door to his room opened and in walked a man Naruto had never, ever seen before. And Naruto had to admit that the man looked intimidating enough that he would have to rate him at least a chunin, if not more. He had shaggy brown hair, reaching eye level and wore standard issued shinobi armor with proper holsters tucked in place. His shoulders were armor-less, showing he wasn't a man to shy away from some good old hand to hand combat.

Naruto had to wonder though, how did a man get a cross-shaped scar blotted on his chin.

It was stupid on an entirely new level.

"This is my subordinate," Tobirama introduced the man.

"Shimura Danzō," the man greeted with a stretched arm.

Naruto clasped his hand in a shake, "Uchiha Naruto," he greeted back equally politely.

Tobirama too it as his queue to cut in, "I'm laying down the foundations to an entirely new military organization that will only be called upon in times of extreme stress. Danzō will be heading this new organization and the only one his subordinates will answer to is me. I'll have direct authority to it's soldiers, no one else."

Naruto caught his gist, "No council?" he asked slickly.

Tobirama smirked, "Just me." he said with a nod.

Danzō looked at Tobirama and the man nodded back to his student, "Raise your sleeve." Tobirama commanded Naruto. Danzō's hands went through a few hand seals and he reached with his glowing right palm to touch Naruto's bicep. He would have, had Naruto not caught his wrist in a tight grip and glared at Danzō with his Sharingan activated.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" branding someone with a seal wasn't something Naruto was comfortable accepting from a complete stranger. Danzo narrowed his eyes into slits.

"Branding you," he replied simply.

Tobirama's teeth clicked, "It's necessary for all members, just a call sign of sorts when I would require your services." he explained to calm the two glaring parties down.

"I'm not having myself branded with a seal by some stranger," Naruto threw Danzō's wrist back roughly and pulled back his arm, Sharingan active all the time. Tobirama held his hand up to motion for Danzō to keep his cool here and nodded at Naruto. He couldn't even fault the boy having known just who it was that had trained him in the art of sealing.

Tobirama walked around the bed, "I'll do it then," he sighed and went through the same seals. Naruto memorized the seals unknowingly, even though he had practically no use for it and let Tobirama do it in Danzō's place.

"Sensei," Danzō spoke for the first time since coming here. "He doesn't take orders well."

"He's a worthy candidate for this organization regardless. I've trained him. Have faith." Tobirama insisted.

"As you say then," Danzō conceded, not willing to argue with a man he respected so much.

"What does joining this organization entail anyways?" Naruto asked, looking at the weird two pronged mark on his shoulder curiously. It didn't even hurt, so that was a relief to him give his present condition.

"You will protect the village from exceptional threats, conduct high-risk missions into enemy territory, and deal with extremely strong ninja. You will also be responsible for carrying out assassinations, tracking, surveillance, and missions requiring specially trained ninja. Some of our members will serve as interrogators that probe the minds of enemy ninja to learn information valuable to the village and we shall recruit our own medics as well. And since we will become so vital to the village's operations, we cannot be arrested by regular police forces without a warrant. While many will choose to serve in this organization for furthering their careers, they can return to the standard forces if they choose to - should the pressure become too much for them that is." Danzō replied instead, quick on his feet to make a jab at Naruto with his last words.

Naruto blinked, "It seems like the old man here is the dictator over there,"

Danzō couldn't believe Tobirama let him away with such blatant disrespect in front of everyone, "Lord Second." he corrected, earning a glare from Naruto. He was already beginning to dislike this man and it wasn't even his first day in this organization yet. Tobirama threw Naruto a scroll containing his equipment and motioned for him to unseal it.

"You'll be joining it after returning from the last mission Mito assigned you as a genin." Tobirama told him, his voice laced in authority.

Naruto unsealed the scroll, caressing the leopard shaped mask on his lap gently, "What's it called?" he questioned, holding up the well made grey Kevlar jacket to inspect it closely.

Tobirama couldn't help but puff his chest out in pride, "The ANBU Black Ops."

* * *

 **A/N : There is the next chapter. Sorry for letting this story get sidetracked, but I got back to it anyhow. I wanted to get the mission to Uzu done and dusted with in this chapter, but the word length honestly shocked me when I ended the last perspective there. Hope you all liked it, I'll wrap up that mission in the next chapter and three or so chapters later take a time-skip that will go into the meat of the plot. The battle with Hanzō** **will be recapped too at a later date, so don't worry about that. I just found it important to leave it for a powerful moment just before the time-skip takes place to finalize Naru-Tsuna bonds in the final pre-skip chapter. And on a side note, for all those who follow Desert Flower as well, I've decided not to go the harem route on that story and will follow it as a single pairing all the way. It wouldn't be fair for the readers who got in expecting something to get something entirely different in the end and I've worked out the plot for it too so no worries there. I've rambled on long enough, so shoo and read my other fics.**

 **Until next time, keep reading and reviewing!**

 **Ja Ne ;)**


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